In what the news hyped to be one of the most important elections of our lifetime, Barack Obama been reelected as President of the United States, defeating challenger Mitt Romney by 126 electoral votes.

There were many factors leading up to Obama’s victory, beginning with the very crucial Presidential debates. In the first debate, the most watched Presidential debate in 32 years, the most talked about topics included job creation, healthcare, and gridlock. Obama was criticized for his performance. According to a CNN poll, 67% of viewers believed Romney had performed better, while only 25% believed Obama had done better. The second debate, hosted right here on Long Island in Hofstra University, raised Obama’s image significantly in the eyes of viewers, as the CNN poll showed that 46% of respondents believed that Obama had put on a superior performance, while only 39% sided with Romney. The President went on to lead in the polls after a strong performance the third debate as well. Another enormous factor in the 2012 Election was the swing states, especially the extraordinarily vital state of Ohio. Throughout history, no Republican candidate has been able to win the Presidential election without securing Ohio. Unfortunately for Romney, Obama was able to secure all eighteen electoral votes from the state of Ohio.

More than 66 million people tuned in to one of the 13 news stations covering Election Night on November 6. CNN, CBS, FOX, and other news networks were doing their best to analyze the results brought in after each hour and make their best projections as to which candidate won in each state. There were some interesting and surprising projections for some states, including Massachusetts, the state in which Mitt Romney served as governor. Massachusetts projections showed that Obama had defeated Romney in the state 1,900,575 to 1,177,370. As polls closed near the end of the night, Obama was able to claim 275 electoral votes, exceeding the 270 needed to win the election. Obama was also able to defeat Romney in the popular vote, 50.61% to 47.75%. The President’s victory makes him the first Democratic presidential candidate since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a majority in the popular vote in two consecutive elections.

The 2012 election was also vital in the Senate and House of Representatives, as Democrats and Republicans battled it out to get control of both sides of Congress. By the end of the election, the Democrats remained in control of the Senate while the GOP remained in control of the House.

The result of the Presidential election has sparked outrage among Republicans and the extremely conservative states. In fact, some states have been petitioning to secede from the United States. The state of Texas has acquired nearly 100,000 signatures, which is a high enough amount of signatures for the White House to take the bill into consideration. Texas Governor Rick Perry does not support the petition, asking Texans not to try to secede but instead “stay and fight the good legislative fight against Washington.” But most of all, Republicans are just looking for someone to blame for the loss. Many Republicans blamed third party candidates for Romney’s loss. Polls showed that if third party candidate Gary Johnson was not running, they would have voted for Romney.

With the rise and development of social networking and news sites over the past four years, never before have the people been more involved in a Presidential election. With Obama as President, Democrats still controlling the Senate, and Republicans still controlling the House, it may seem that this election did not change anything in our government. But the candidates were listening to the American people the past six months and the American people capitalized on it. Our voices have been heard, and no matter what party you are a part of, no matter which candidate you supported, it’s important that the American people unite and excercise our rights and let our voices continue to be heard, so that the United States of America can finally head in the right direction.