Associated Press
Posted on November 7,
2012
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama won re-election Tuesday night
despite a fierce challenge from Republican Mitt Romney as well as the weak
economy and high unemployment that encumbered his first term and crimped the
middle class dreams of millions.
"This happened because of you. Thank you" Obama tweeted to supporters' as he
secured four more years in the White House.
The president sealed his victory in Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado,
four of the nine battleground states where the two rivals and their allies spent
nearly $1 billion on dueling television commercials.
Ultimately, the result of the brawl of an election campaign appeared likely
to be the political status quo. Democrats won two more years of control of the
Senate, and Republicans were on track to do likewise in the House.
The two rivals were close in the popular vote.
Romney had 45.2 million votes, or 49 percent. Obama had 45 million, also 49
percent, with 65 percent of precincts tallied.
But Obama's laser-like focus on battleground states gave him the majority in
the electoral vote, where it mattered most. He had 284, or 14 more than needed
for victory. Romney had 200.
Obama will again be dealing with a divided Congress. Democrats maintained
control of the Senate and Republicans likely will again control the House. Among
the most pressing matters is the so-called fiscal cliff of tax hikes and
spending cuts scheduled to hit in January. Economists have warned that if they
aren't averted, the nation could face another recession.
The election emerged as a choice between two very different visions of
government -- whether it occupies a major, front-row place in American lives or
is in the background as a less-obtrusive facilitator for private enterprise and
entrepreneurship.
The economy was rated the top issue by about 60 percent of voters surveyed as
they left their polling places. But more said former President George W. Bush
bore responsibility for current circumstances than Obama did after nearly four
years in office.
About 4 in 10 said the economy is on the mend, but more than that said it was
stagnant or getting worse more than four years after the near-collapse of 2008.
The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and a group of television
networks.
Polls were still open in much of the country as the two rivals began claiming
the spoils of a brawl of an election in a year in which the struggling economy
put a crimp in the middle class dreams of millions.
The president was in Chicago as he awaited the voters' verdict on his four
years in office. He told reporters he had a concession speech as well as victory
remarks prepared. He congratulated Romney on a spirited campaign. "I know his
supporters are just as engaged, just as enthusiastic and working just as hard
today" as Obama's own, he added.
Romney reciprocated, congratulating the man who he had campaigned against for
more than a year.
