It was a disappointing defeat for Mitt Romney on Election Day.
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Obama won reelection with 332 electoral votes, while Romney had 206. Obama had 50 percent of the popular vote, while Romney carried 48 percent.
The election was close for a while before West Coast and Ohio results came in. Romney was actually ahead in the electoral vote for some time and the popular vote for even longer. The essential results of Ohio proved to be the breaking point for the election.
Current events seemed to draw votes toward Obama. The devastation of Hurricane Sandy forced the federal government to act, giving federal aid to New York and New Jersey. Most states on the East Coast that were affected by Hurricane Sandy turned Democratic, according to the Wall Street Journal’s electoral map.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s praise for Obama probably helped his campaign.
“If the president of United States comes here and he’s willing to help my people and he does it, then I’m gonna say nice things about him, because he’s earned it,” said Christie.
Christie had supported Romney throughout his campaign, but his bipartisan interaction with Obama looked no less than promising to voters.
Unfortunately, there was nothing Romney could do about the storm besides urging people to donate to Red Cross and having donation stands at his rallies. In regard to bipartisanship, he could only reiterate how he worked with Democrats during his term as governor of Massachusetts.
Despite many jabs at Romney for lack of “empathy,” he did not make negative comments during the storm. Chris Matthews, an MSNBC host and Obama supporter, however, said, “I’m so glad we had that storm last week, because I think the storm was one of those things.”
After the results of the election came in, Romney gave an honest and respectful concession speech. He first congratulated President Obama, then thanked Paul Ryan, his wife Ann, his campaign and all of the volunteers that helped.
It is a shame that Romney never got his chance to assume the role of president, since he had endless ideas about how to build a strong economy. The race seemed to be nearly tied before the actual election.
The main reason people turned against him was probably his stance on social issues. If he had separated from the standard views of the Republican Party on these issues, he could have attracted more Independents, Libertarians and possibly some Democrats.
He had a wise view on economics, which would have been his greatest contribution. In his campaign, however, he had trouble connecting with all kinds of voters. He focused mostly on small business owners. He did not emphasize the workers enough, who make up greater numbers.
He understood the most critical issue, however: bipartisanship. He said that both parties would need to “put the people before the politics.”
“At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work,” Romney said.
Hopefully Obama will learn from his mistakes of excessive spending and bailouts. If not, 2016 will be a victory for the Republican Party.

By Emily Leayman