After what some experts have called one of the closest Presidential races in history, Barack Obama has secured four more years in the White House.
As of press time, the president secured 303 projected electoral votes, 97 more than Mitt Romney’s 206 projected electoral votes.
During his concession speech, Romney thanked his supporters and urged bipartisanship.
“This is a time for great challengers for America, and I pray the president will be successful in guiding our nation,” Romney said. “The nation is at a critical point, at a time like this we cannot risk partisan bickering. Our leaders need to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work.”
In Chicago, President Obama addressed an enthusiastic crowd, thanking them for support and promising to reduce the deficit, reform the tax code, fix the immigration system and free the U.S. of foreign Oil.
“Tonight, in this election, the American people reminded us that while our road has been hard and our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up and we have fought our way back,” Obama said. “In the weeks ahead, I look forward to sitting down with Gov. Romney to talk about what we can do to work together.”
In his speech, Obama briefly referenced public education, new technologies, global warming, social equalities, the military and unemployment.
“I am returning to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead,” Obama said. “In the upcoming months, I am looking forward to working with leaders from both parties.”
An Oct. 29 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll showed that Romney held a clear lead in Texas. The survey showed 55 percent of voters supported Romney while 39 percent of voters supported Obama. In Travis County, Obama won with 60 percent of the vote compared to Romney’s 37 percent. In 2008, Obama won Travis County with 64 percent. Texas has not voted for a Democratic candidate for president since 1976.
As a whole, Texas voted more conservatively this election. In 2008, John McCain won the southern state with 54 percent of the votes, with traditionally conservative counties like Bexar, Cameron, Dallas and Harris supporting Obama. In 2004, Bush won Texas more dominantly with 61 percent of the votes. With half of the precincts in Texas counted by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Romney had 59 percent of Texas’ vote.
For weeks leading up to the polls, Obama and Romney were stuck in a close race after a series of heated debates. In the final days before the election, Obama and Romney spent their time campaigning in the few battleground states that would decide the presidency.
Obama spent time campaigning in Ohio, Iowa and Wisconsin Monday, fighting for 34 electoral votes between the states. He won all three.
Ohio’s 18 electoral votes were the turning point for Obama’s campaign. The state was designated as one of the more important battleground states.
Michigan is Romney’s native state and where his late father served as governor. Obama also took Paul Ryan’s home state of Wisconsin, adding 10 electoral votes to his victory. The last time a presidential candidate and his running mate lost both of their home states was in 1972, according to 270towin.com.
The president did not spend Election Day campaigning. Instead he attempted to reach out to swing states through television and radio interviews from Chicago. Romney made two last minute stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but those efforts did not help him win either state.
During campaigning, Obama promised to raise tax rates for the upper class but not raise them for the middle and lower classes. During the debates, the president reiterated the importance of keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and Romney repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for its handling of the aftermath of the murder of Christopher Stevens, U.S.’ ambassador to Libya.
During his first term, the president was credited with keeping the economy from collapsing, passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and overseeing the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden. Romney and the Republican Party have repeatedly criticized the president for raising the deficit and government spending while not decreasing the unemployment rate below 6 percent.
