Barack Obama Re-elected as American President
Barack Obama defeated Republican Mitt Romney in the November 6, 2012 election to win a second term in office. The President won in a majority of so-called swing states, like Ohio and Virginia. The outcome gave Barack Obama more than 30 electoral votes more than needed to stay in office. The Republicans were very disappointed because they had thought that the race would be closer.
When it became clear that Obama had reached a total of over three hundred electoral votes, Mitt Romney called the President to congratulate him on his victory.
The election vote turned out to be the closest in Florida where, even two days after the polls closed, it was not clear who had won that state. The sunshine state was in the spotlight during the 2000 election when a recount was stopped by the US Supreme Court and George Bush was announced President.
Hispanics played an important part in Obama’s reelection, mostly because Romney said that he would be very tough on those illegally in the country and make them go back home. Although Obama lost some of his support among young voters and Jews he kept his hold on the African American and female vote. On the other side Romney was supported primarily by white middle and upper class voters as well as those from the countryside.
Although Barack Obama was reelected, the country’s political system remains divided. In the next four years the President has to deal with a split Congress. The Democrats kept their majority in the Senate, while the Republicans retained the House of Representatives.
One of the new President’s most urgent problems is the budget and economic recovery of the nation as well as federal debt, which is soaring. Those were among Mitt Romney’s biggest issues during the election campaign. He repeatedly claimed that he was a businessman and knew how the economy worked.
Unemployment has been rising high and the Americans have also been hit by the debt crisis in Europe. But there are signs that the economy is moving upwards.
In his victory speech after the election Barack Obama promised the Americans that “the best is yet to come”.
Related Topics
- The American President
- Barack Obama
- Election 2000
- Election 2008
- How the Electoral College Works
- How American Government Works
- Donald Trump to Become 45th President of the United States
Words
- although = while
- announce = declare
- campaign = here: the weeks and months before the presidential election in which the candidates travel to different states and hold speeches
- claim = to say that something is true
- congratulate = to tell someone you are happy because they have won
- deal with = manage, handle, work with
- debt= the money that you have to give back to others
- disappointed = sad
- divided = split into two parts
- election = the process of voting for a person in a high position
- electoral = votes for the Electoral College
- federal debt = when the government spends more money than it receives
- female = woman
- Hispanic = people from countries in Central and South America, who speak Spanish and Portuguese
- hold = help, support
- illegal = against the law
- in office = as president
- issue = topic
- majority = most of the people (here: voters)
- outcome = result
- polls = voting places
- primarily = mainly, mostly
- recount = to officially count again
- recovery = to get back to a good condition
- reelection = to be elected again
- remain stay
- repeatedly = over and over again
- retain = keep
- sign = signal
- soaring = moving very high up
- spotlight = focus
- support = here: people who voted for him
- swing state = a state in which no candidate has a clear majority; a state that often votes for different party candidates at different times
- term = period of time
- tough = hard, strict
- unemployment = being out of work
- urgent = very pressing, important
- victory = win