Another election season has come and gone. After months of campaigning and debates, Barack Obama was re-elected into the office of President of the United States on Nov. 6.
As the polls closed and votes began to pour in, Republican candidate Mitt Romney gained an early advantage as he won a vast majority of states. These states included Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Georgia. But where Obama pulled away with the election is by winning many “battleground” states. These states don’t lean their support to any one political party.
These critical states include Nevada and Ohio. Obama won the vote in these states, which proved to be the deciding factor in the final results.
The most telling aspect of the election results was the wide gap between those who voted for Obama and Romney. There were numerous gaps among voter exit polls. According to CNN.com, 55 percent of women voted for Obama, compared to 44 percent for Romney. In what turned out to be the largest discrepancy in the various demographics, of the 10 percent of Latino voters, 1 percent voted for Obama. Of the white voters, 59 percent voted for Romney. Also of the 13 percent of African-American voters, 93 percent voted for Obama.
College students made their way to the polls this year. Of the 29 percent of college student voters, 51 percent voted for Romney. According to The New York Times, among college students, there was a 2 percent increase in Republican voters, while there was a 4 percent decrease in Democratic voters.
Skyline College political science instructor Jeff Diamond feels the results set Democrats up to make changes. “Republicans would have made some major changes to repeal some of the work Obama has done, said Diamond. “The United States is no longer some crazy outlier.”
After realizing his deficit in the votes, Romney called President Obama directly to concede his campaign and congratulate him on winning the election. During his concession speech, Romney addressed a crowd of thousands in Boston, Mass. He was gracious in defeat and expressed his well wishes toward the president.
“I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction,” said Romney in his concession speech. “But the nation chose another leader. And so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.”
Skyline student, Angel Yeager, a supporter of Mitt Romney, hopes Obama improves compared to his first term in office. “I’m just hoping Obama will take the next four years and make them better than the previous four,” said Yeager.
In Chicago, Obama took the stage and addressed a very excited crowd of supporters. The president gave a rousing speech, in which he thanked his campaign team, supporters and his family. He also expressed the need for a unified nation moving forward.
“I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests,” said Obama in his victory speech. “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.”
Skyline student Johanna Espinoza felt she made the right decision voting for Obama, mainly because it was positive for her female rights.
“I felt empowered,” said Espinoza, “I feel like I made the right decision voting for him because if he’s doing it for my female rights, I’m happy.”
