President Barack Obama speaks to his supporters at his campaign headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.
Barack Obama has won a second term as president of the United States, defeating the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. Obama carried the key “swing states” of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisonsin, among others, en route to a 332 to 206 lead in the electoral vote. It is estimated that voter turnout was down significantly nationwide from 2008. The support of majorities of Hispanics, women, and youth voters was significant to Obama’s reelection.
In the U.S. Congress, the Democrats will gain seats in the Senate, increasing their majority to 55 to 45, including two independent senators who will caucus with them. The Republican Party preserved its majority in the House of Representatives, guaranteeing that President Obama faces a “divided government” when he goes back to work. The Democrats, however, have closed the gap held by the Republicans before the election. Just one House race is yet to be decided, pending a runoff between two Republicans in Louisiana’s 3rd congressional district.
Across the country, in state government races, the Republicans held on to three governorships and gained one, while the Democrats held on to seven. Twelve legislative chambers were “flipped,” meaning that the majority changed from one political party to the other. The Democrats gained three state senates and five state houses; however, the Republican Party still holds control of more state governments nationwide.
Image credit: © AP Photo/Jerome Delay
Related Links
- Election 2012
View complete election results for all races: presidential, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, governorships, and statehouses; includes interactive maps.
(Source: New York Times, November 7, 2012) - Obama Takes Key Battlegrounds to Win Re-election
Check out this recap of the 2012 presidential election; includes video of President Obama’s victory speech and link to CNN’s Election Center.
(Source: CNN, November 7, 2012) - Ballotpedia’s Update on 2012 State Legislative Elections
What happened in your state’s elections? This Website tracks the results of state and local races nationwide.
so who is goning to win? im dying to know
idk
i want obama to win!! go democrates!!
obama is going to win?
OBAMA WINS!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
Obama Won!!! xDDD
obama nation
sigh, obama wins, there goes the american dream
second term cool no more president for him after this
i wish he would not have won
i agree
Obama
win
go democrates
Obama won !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!;D
Hi yo yo and yes Obama won wohoooo
Obama won yah i knew he was going to win
wow
yessssss! 😉 obama wins again
Throughout the great pattern of thnigs you get an A for effort and hard work. Where you misplaced me was on all the specifics. As people say, the devil is in the details And that couldn’t be more correct at this point. Having said that, permit me reveal to you just what did work. The article (parts of it) is certainly incredibly engaging which is possibly the reason why I am making the effort in order to comment. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. Second, even though I can see a jumps in reason you come up with, I am definitely not sure of just how you seem to connect your details that help to make the final result. For the moment I shall yield to your point but trust in the future you connect your facts much better.
dn’t hate he’s the best 🙂
OBAMA!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!
yes Obama has done something for us but he didn’t accomplish what her said he would do because he needed more time because 4 years is not enough for all the things he promised.
there is no reason for you not to like him. 🙂
i do not like obama at all!!! he is a hypocryte and he has done absolutely nothing for our country!!! i wish he wasnt elected again
Its a shame he didn’t.
no,Romney should have won!!!
ya obama
good job OBAMA
Mit romney yeah
Well there goes the country. We’re officially screwed with all the debt he’ll put us in. And praise god for Obamacare that uses printed money that we dont even have.
WAY TO GO PRESIDENT!! 🙂
good day obama.
YAAAYYYYYY 🙂
obamanos
hi
oh yay