Barack Obama was elected to a second term as president of the United States, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney Nov. 6.
As of Wednesday morning, Obama held both an electoral and popular victory, with 303 electoral votes to Romney’s 206, and 50 percent of the popular vote to Romney’s 48 with the state of Florida still undecided.
“We’re all in this together. That’s how we campaigned, and that’s who we are. Thank you,” Obama tweeted before taking the stage at a victory party in Chicago to formally announce his victory.
Obama secured his victory by winning several battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada and Colorado.
The state of Ohio was another key victory for Obama, pushing him over the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.
Obama also won traditionally Democratic states including California, New York, Michigan and Illinois.
The victories in swing states came after some early results showed Romney and Obama nearly tied. This made for an exciting night for election watchers like Nino Monea, head of Eastern Michigan University’s Student Government political action committee.
“I’m going to go home and not sleep at all because I’m so pumped for tonight,” Monea said.
Early in the evening, EMU student Brad Arnold shared his desire for a Romney victory.
“He has a lot of experiences, and he knows how businesses operate,” Arnold said. “He would make a stand for our religious rights in this country, and with that comes a strong definition of right and wrong.”
Another EMU student, junior and political science major Hailey Huckestein, said she had voted for Obama.
“I don’t know Romney’s plan, and I don’t think he’s sincere,” Huckestein said. “Obama has a plan to fix the economy, but it’s difficult because of the depression in 2008. If you stop implementing what’s starting to work, it’s not going to be fixed.”
Exit polls showed Obama had strong support among women, African-Americans and Hispanic voters. Polling data also showed that younger voters tended to vote for Obama.
EMU student Shailer Turner said she didn’t vote for Romney because of his stance on important issues.
“I didn’t vote for Romney because he tried to cut welfare, he’s taking away abortion and taking away birth control,” she said.
Desmond Miller, Student Body vice president at EMU, was happy with the results of the election and with the youth voter turnout.
“Surprisingly, I’m more pleased at the fact that students were so excited to vote. I haven’t heard that in a long time,” Miller said.
The president addressed cheering crowds in his hometown of Chicago, thanking them for their support.
“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.
Obama also had words of praise for his competitor, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
“We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future,” Obama said. “In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.”
He also expressed his gratitude to his Vice President Joe Biden, who he called “America’s happy warrior.”
Obama went on to thank his wife Michelle and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, for their support. He also got a laugh from the crowd when he addressed his daughters, “I am so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now, one dog is probably enough.”
Obama also gave a heartfelt thanks to those who worked to get him elected.
“No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together. And you will have the lifelong appreciation of a grateful president,” he said.
In his speech, Obama acknowledged the differences in beliefs held by the voters.
“Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated,” he said. “That won’t change after tonight, and it shouldn’t. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty.”
Obama also expressed his optimism for the future of the country.
“I believe we can keep the promise of our founding; the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love,” he said. “You can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.”
The president concluded his speech with a message of unity.
“We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America,” he said.
EMU Student Body President Matthew Norfleet was thrilled by Obama’s victory.
“Student Government, of course, is a nonpartisan organization, but I am elated,” Norfleet said.
Despite some concerns that he might not concede and choose to contest the results of the election, Mitt Romney was concise and gracious in his concession speech.
“This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation,” Romney said.
He thanked his family for their support, as well as his vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.
“I want to thank Paul Ryan for all that he has done for our campaign,” he said. “Besides my wife Ann, Paul is the best choice I’ve ever made.”
Romney went on to thank those who volunteered and supported his campaign.
“I don’t believe that there’s ever been an effort in our party that can compare with what you have done over these past years. Thank you so very much,” he said. “You gave deeply from yourselves and performed magnificently. And you inspired us and you humbled us. You’ve been the very best we could have imagined.”
In his concession, Romney advised cooperation and bipartisanship.
“At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work,” he said.
Romney ended his remarks with gratitude and a prayer.
“Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign,” he said. “I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader. And so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.”
