Obama: A lot more work to do
President Obama told supporters his win “wasn’t fate and it wasn’t an accident”.
In an email sent to people signed up to his campaign, he said: “Friend, I’m about to go speak to the crowd here in Chicago, but I wanted to thank you first.
“I want you to know that this wasn’t fate, and it wasn’t an accident. You made this happen.
“You organised yourselves block by block. You took ownership of this campaign five and ten dollars at a time. And when it wasn’t easy, you pressed forward.
“I will spend the rest of my presidency honouring your support, and doing what I can to finish what we started.
“But I want you to take real pride, as I do, in how we got the chance in the first place.
“Today is the clearest proof yet that, against the odds, ordinary Americans can overcome powerful interests.
“There’s a lot more work to do.
“But for right now: Thank you.
Barack“
We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you. -bo
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012
His victory tweet and photograph was re-tweeted more than 250,000 in 22 minutes, according to the BBC.
The contest took place in an atmosphere of rancorous division in American politics, with large numbers of voters on both sides viscerally opposed to all their rivals stand for.
Obama was attacked for his failure to kick start a full-blooded recovery or pull unemployment rates down from the 8% mark. Mr Romney promised sharp cuts in the deficit and support for small business while the president relied on state investment to stimulate growth.
The deep divisions and close polling sparked an intense, relentless and costly campaign, focused mainly on the vital swing states.
In four of those, Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado, the two campaigns spent nearly £625 million on television commercials.
President Obama also took the swing state of Virginia, which is worth 13 electoral college votes.
The president’s party also fared well in voting for the Senate, retaining control of the upper house as Republicans lost seats – some after gaffes by candidates.
But the Republicans remain in control in the House of Representatives, meaning that President Obama will face a divided Congress in his second term as he did in his first, making it difficult for him to pass any major pieces of legislation.
