Louisiana voters chose eight electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

President Barack Obama received little serious opposition in the 2012 Democratic primaries, handily winning overall with over 76% of the vote.

However, Tennessee attorney and perennial political candidate John Wolfe Jr. challenged President Obama in the primaries, and received nearly 12% of the vote.

Entrepreneur Bob Ely and historian Darcy Richardson also participated, and received a little over 6% and 5% of the vote, respectively.

[13][12] In advance of the June 2 Louisiana State Republican Convention in Shreveport, pro-Paul delegates and others clashed with officials and loyalists of the state Republican Party, which "issued supplemental rules on the eve of the convention to keep the Paul forces from wresting more than the 17 delegates which, in their view, was their due.

"[15] In its official challenge to the delegate slate filed in August, Paul's campaign likened Villere to the leader of "a North Korean politburo"; in response, the executive director of the Louisiana Republican Party said that Paul's challenge was "full of personal attacks, hyperbole and unfounded assumption.