Election 2012 President Obama Wins Second Term

BRADENTON – The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, earned a second term Tuesday night, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The race became elementary once the state of Ohio was called for the president, leaving virtually no path of victory for the former Massachusetts governor. The result follows the most expensive political campaign of all time, with just under $2 billion spent on political advertising in the race.

Romney beat the President in Manatee County 55.68 percent to 43.18 percent. Nationally, the President won by a 303-206 margin in the electoral college, while winning the popular vote by about 3 percent. The President's victory comes with an awareness that the political gridlock which has hampered Washington for the last four years is likely to continue with what will again be a very divided Congress, with Republicans maintaining control of the House, while the Democrats seem likely to retain a razor-thin margin in the Senate.