Obama Re-Elected President, Networks Project
President Barack Obama has won re-election, as Republican Mitt Romney made his concession speech just before 1 a.m. ET. Obama won in the key swing state of Ohio, which Romney needed to get if he was to reach the 270 Electoral College votes to win.
Obama's re-election strategy proved too difficult for Romney to overcome. His campaign spent much of their money on ads in important swing states, such as Florida, Virginia, and Ohio over the summer. The ads focused on presenting Romney as an out-of-touch plutocrat. Obama campaign strategists believed in early September that the strategy was so successful that the race was essentially over. Obama also argued that he needed another four years to finish the work he started.
Romney presented himself as the "turnaround artist" who could get the economy going again and create jobs by running on his experience as a successful businessman, governor of Massachusetts, and his leadership of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Romney also argued that Obama is a failed leader due to the sluggish economy. Obama was too partisan and focused on passing liberal legislation instead of helping the economy, he claimed.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Ohio and Florida turned out to be the key swing states, as many expected. At the time of this writing, Florida, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada are still undecided, but Romney would be unable to win even if he were to win all those states.
Voters also selected the status quo for Congress. The House of Representatives will remain in Republican control and the Senate will remain in Democratic control.
