by JASMINE ELSHAMY Staff Writer
Democratic candidate President Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term in office on Tuesday, November 6. “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,” said President Obama in his victory speech. The president congratulated Governor Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan on a “hard-fought” campaign, and he looks forward to “sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.” Romney received 206 electoral votes, while President Obama received 332 electoral votes. As for the popular vote so far, President Obama received about 51 percent, and Romney ironically received 47 percent. It was a very close race between the citizens, but not so much with the electoral college, considering President Obama won with over 100 more votes than Romney. “I am so glad that Mitt Romney did not win the election and, to be honest, he should have seen this coming, what with his comments on the 47 percent and the fact that he does not support homosexuality or gay marriage,” says senior Sam Cicatello. The presidential battleground states were hard to determine beforehand, but ended up varying between close calls and wide margins. According to Politico, Romney won Arizona by 10 percent, Missouri by approximately nine percent, and North Carolina, while Obama won Colorado, Florida (by just one percent), Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. However, Romney won Indiana, North Carolina, and Nebraska’s second congressional district, which Obama narrowly won in 2008. As for the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Senate is democratic, with 53 Democratic seats and 45 Republican seats. Eight states voted Republican: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Fifteen states were undecided, and 27 voted Democrat. The House of Representatives is Republican, with 233 Republican seats and 195 Democratic seats. When looking at the map for who voted Democrat, Republican, or undecided, the map is very red, with only the outskirt states blue. Not only was history made with President Obama’s re-election, but Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin is the first openly gay female senator to be elected to Senate. “Having a seat at the table matters and I think we will see a Senate that is more reflective of America. We’re certainly not there yet, but this will be a change that moves us forward,” she told CNN. Baldwin was one of many successful gay and lesbian candidates in local and state races this election cycle. At least 118 gay and lesbian candidates won their races as of Wednesday, according to political action committee Victory Fund, which supports gay and lesbian candidates. “It is so wonderful to see America evolving into a country where people are welcomed as equals, where gay women can be elected senators and black men can be presidents for two terms after campaigning against stereotypical white men,” says sophomore Lindsey Frankel. “It’s great to see the United States on its way to equality.”
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