By: Erik Digranes and Camila Alfonso
After heated presidential campaigning, U.S. President Barack Obama rode a wave of broad support from moderates, women, and minorities en route to victory and re-election over Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney on Tuesday.
The highly predicted close tie ended in Obama obtaining 332 of the decisive 270 Electoral College votes required, while runner up Romney held 206 electoral votes. The popular vote ruled 50.5% for Obama and 47.9% for Romney.
The youth vote, typically defined as voters age 18 to 29, was especially impactful. According to an analysis by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, if Romney had won half of the youth vote in Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida, he would have won the presidency.
Major media outlets first called the race for Obama a bit after 11 p.m. Tuesday, after the countedvotes projected that he won Ohio, a key swing state with 18 electoral votes. No Republican candidate has made it to the White House without carrying this state. For the last 12 elections, Ohio went to the eventual president.
Obama won other crucial states, including New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. The only battleground state Romney took is North Carolina.
Florida, another vital swing state, made headlines once again for not being able to determine who won the state. Votes of several counties, including Broward and Miami-Dade, were still being counted long after Romney conceded.
In his concession speech from Boston, Romney thanked his supporters and called for national unity during an especially trying moment in U.S. history. He said the country cannot afford partisan division, and wished Obama a successful term.
Andrea Kafure, NSU senior political science major, said, “Even though I voted for Obama and hated Romney throughout the race, I felt some pity for him at the end. He did campaign hard and really seemed crushed that he lost.”
In his acceptance speech from Chicago early Wednesday morning, Obama praised the American spirit that helped the country unite and triumph over its darkest hours, and claimed he would work with Republicans on issues crucial to the nation’s success.
Obama also thanked the voters and those who helped his successful campaign. He said he is returning to office more encouraged than ever, and vowed to achieve the vision of a flourishing, technologically superior, well-defended America.
“Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come,” Obama said to prolonged cheers.
Aaron Simek, NSU Senior finance major said, “Obama’s acceptance speech sent chills up my spine. I wish I could’ve been waving an American flag in front of the stage he spoke from.”
Obama had a second victory on election night. He beat pop star Justin Bieber’s Twitter record for the most re-tweeted message of all time. The tweet — which read, “This happened because of you. Thank you.” — included a picture of Obama and the first lady hugging, and was retweeted 298,318 times in 30 minutes.
Preparations are already underway in Washington, D.C. for Obama’s second inauguration. Since the usual inauguration date of Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday in 2013, the inauguration will be on Jan. 21, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Traditional events will include the swearing in, an inaugural address, a festival parade, and multiple extravagant balls.
