 The county supported [[Barack Obama]], a Chicago resident, in 2008 and 2012 (albeit narrowly in 2012).Obama was the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the county since [[Franklin Pierce]] in [[1852 United States presidential election|1852]].The only time prior to 2008 that a Republican had failed to win the county was in 1912, when the GOP was mortally divided and former President and [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]] nominee [[Theodore Roosevelt]] won over half the county's vote.