Presidential Election Overview

According to the electoral results published by the Associated Press, Barack Obama remains president of the United States. Obama claimed 303 electoral college votes over Republican challenger Governor Mitt Romney’s 206 electoral college votes. President Obama also received 50.5% of the popular vote, followed by Romney at 48.02%, and Governor Gary Johnson of the Libertarian party at .96%. Obama won the following states:

California (55 electoral votes), Connecticut (7), Colorado (9), Delaware (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Iowa (6), Maine (4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), Michigan (16), Minnesota (10), Nevada (6), New Hampshire (4), New Jersey (14), New Mexico (5), New York (29), Ohio (18), Oregon (7), Pennsylvania (20), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Virginia (13), Washington D.C. (2), Washington (12). Romney won the following states: Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arizona (11), Arkansas (6), Georgia (16), Idaho (4), Indiana (11), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Montana (3), Nebraska (5), North Carolina (15), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (38), Utah (6), West Virginia (5), and Wyoming (3). There were no states won by third party candidates.

Reactions to the election, while mixed, were generally positive. International reactions were particularly positive. Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a telegram to Obama saying, “You and I have common views on constructing a China-US cooperation partnership based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and a win-win situation and constructing a new model for relations between great powers.” French President Francois Hollande wrote, “Your re-election is a clear choice in favor of an America that is open, unified, completely engaged in the international scene and conscious of the challenges facing our planet: peace, the economy and the environment.” Speaker of the House John Boehner wrote, “The American people re-elected the president, and re-elected our [Republican] majority in the House. If there is a mandate, it is a mandate for both parties to find common ground and take steps together to help our economy grow and create jobs, which is critical to solving our debt.”