"The Best is Yet to Come": Four More Years for Obama

The campaign trail was long, the attack ads were brutal and the debates, captivating. Tonight marks a victorious end for President Barack Obama, as he wins a second term in office. With a current count of 303 electoral votes and 50% of the popular vote*, the race was close and opponent Mitt Romney put up a formidable fight.

As predicted, Ohio, Florida and Iowa were decisive states in this election and President Barack Obama took all three. Across the nation, Obama had a key advantage with women, young voters and racial minorities. Romney held an advantage with white males and voters over 30.

As Obama crossed the 270 electoral line of victory, he immediately tweeted to his supporters, “This happened because of you. Thank you. In his celebratory speech, President Obama thanked his supporters and reaffirmed his direction for this country. “Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine it’s own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward…you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression," said a very pleased President Obama.

Acknowledging the economic and social struggles of his first term, President Obama encouragingly said "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, for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”

President Obama politely thanked Mitt Romney. "We may have battled fiercly," he said, "but it’s only because we love this country dearly. The Romney family has chosen to give back to this country through public service… that is the legacy we choose to honor tonight." Mitt Romney kept his concession speech brief and humble. He began his speech, as he characteristically does, by thanking his wife, Anne Romney. "She would have been a wonderful first lady," said Romney. "She has been that and more to me and our family.”

Initially, some statisticians speculated that Romney may win the popular vote in spite of his shortcomings in the Electoral College. This would have been the first election in which an incumbent President has won enough electoral votes without winning the popular vote, but as the last ballots rolled in, Obama managed to capture 50% of the votes, with over a 2,000,000 vote lead on Romney.

In addition to a Democratic Presidential victory, Democrats made key gains in the Senate and secured a majority by winning three seats previously held by Republicans. In the House of Representatives, the Republicans were clear winners in this election, with 238 seats earned.

Aside from the politicians elected, major state initiatives from this election also made headlines. Prominent votes include Maine and Maryland's legalization of Gay Marriage and Oklahoma’s ban on government sponsored Affirmative Action, in education and contracting employees. Additionally, Colorado and Washington both approved measures to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

*Count is current as of 12:45 am Central Standard Time. Results will be updated as they become available.