Photos: DC Spotlight Newspaper
November 7, 2012
On Tuesday night, after a long and heated campaign against Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama won a second term as president. Just after midnight, Romney conceded a loss to the president after delaying a concession speech for over an hour. As voting results came in after midnight, both Obama and Romney were each tied with 49 percent of the votes. Late in the night, Romney was leading in the popular votes, even as the president was declared the winner based on electoral votes.
As the night wore on, Obama pulled ahead to 50 percent and sealed his victory and the popular vote by a slim margin. In his victory speech, Obama lauded Americans who have engaged in heated discussions during the campaign, noting that in foreign lands others are fighting for the right Americans have to “argue.” He emphasized that he is “more determined about the work there is to do and the future ahead.” He concluded by stating that it is not our great universities or technology that makes America great, but our diversity and shared destiny. In 2008, Obama won 52.9 percent of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes. By early Wednesday morning, the president had 303 electoral votes and Romney had 206; however, Florida’s votes were still outstanding with Obama leading. Florida has 29 electoral votes. Obama made history by becoming only the second president, along with Franklin Roosevelt, to be re-elected with unemployment above 7.2 percent.
