“Yes we did!” Is what Democrats around the nation are all chanting and cheering as they celebrate another four years of President Obama and his administration, while gaining two seats and keeping control over the Senate. Democrats captured the Presidency for another four years with 332 electoral votes and 62,186,573 popular votes.
After a long battle, the Obama campaign was able to win eleven of the 14 swing states, including states that were thought to go to Romney such as Virginia and Florida.
However all eyes were on Ohio, which was the state that was believed to be the deciding one in this election year, which apparently was true. It was Ohio’s 18 Electoral College votes that got the President his second term in office.
The Obama team has been given lots of praise for their hard work and dedication to the campaign with their success in getting people out to vote. Dr. Joseph Patten, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University, credited them with for being “Miles ahead of the Romney team as far as being able to pin point supporters and getting out the vote.”
Dr. Michael Phillips-Anderson, a professor of political communication at the University, agreed that the Obama team ran a very successful campaign. He said, “The Obama team executed their data drive communication and GOTV strategy nearly perfectly. The fact that 22.9 million young voters came out (a bigger share 19 to 18 percent than in 2008) demonstrated that the GOP did little to attract the youth vote, presumably thinking that it would shrink from 2008. The Obama team did a remarkable job in turnout.”
The first time voters at the University could not support Phillips- Anderson’s statement more. Dominick Macitelli, a student at the University, stated “I’m happy with the outcome, this was my first time voting and I voted for Obama and it feels good to have voted for the winner especially since I have faith in him as our president.”
Susan Pagano, a student here at the University, and another first time voter was “Thrilled with the outcome! I was so happy that President Obama was reelected for another term because he defiantly has the superior plans for the future of our nation. This was also my first time being able to vote in a Presidential Election, and I could not be happier that it was for such an important one. Just the fact that I was able to vote for President Obama this time around is really special for me.”
The youth vote was critical to the Democratic success in this year’s election. According to an article from Huffington Post 60 percent of voters from ages 18- 29 supported President Obama in this election. The article states “Obama’s youth vote victories this year and in 2008 were the biggest wins among this demographic of any presidential candidate in recent history.”
Huffington Post also offers polling data collected by YouGov, which shows why the Democratic Party holds a strong stance over the youth vote. The generation that is now considered under the youth vote has strong views that tie into the Presidents ideas and plans. After being polled it showed that young voters support abortion rights, taxing of the rich, same sexmarriage, and the need to control global warming.
In the words of President Obama himself, “I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the life-long appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley.”
IMAGE TAKEN from kstp.com
