Obama Tweets victory: Second term in the White House turns out to be a walk-over as 'closest-ever' election is decided within hours

By TOBY HARNDEN IN BOSTON, HUGO GYE and LYDIA WARREN

President Barack Obama won re-election to the White House tonight with a landslide victory over Mitt Romney, according to projections from most of the television networks. Broadcast networks called the 2012 presidential election for Obama as he swept the map with wins in the swings states of Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Virginia while Florida still hung in the balance.

Victory: Barack Obama tweeted this picture of himself with his wife Michelle shortly after being declared the winner of the 2012 presidential election Obama seemed poised for a resounding electoral college win - despite predictions of one of the tightest finishes in history and the dogged insistence of Romney advisers that they were making gains all over the political battlefield. Despite unemployment standing at 7.9 per cent and Obama performing very poorly during the first presidential debate, Romney was crushed nationally, though he might finish only just behind in the popular vote.

Ready to get back to business: Barack Obama has been re-elected for a second term as President Minutes after his victory was announced, the President tweeted: 'We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you.' He also posted a picture of himself embracing his wife Michelle - and the post rapidly became the most popular tweet of all time. Romney called Obama to concede defeat shortly before 1am, a few minutes before he was set to take the stage at his Boston headquarters to deliver his concession speech.

Success: Obama supporters explode with delight as their candidate comes closer to victory While both campaigns and their teams of lawyers were steeling themselves for an all-night nail-biter and possibly even protracted legal disputes over recounts and disputed ballots, the evening effectively ended at 11.15pm when Ohio fell. It looked likely that Obama would prevail in Colorado and Nevada while Florida and Virginia also appeared on the brink of just toppling his way. That would leave North Carolina, a traditionally Republican state that Obama won by just 14,000 votes in 2008, as the only swing state to be captured by Romney.

Grief: A young Romney fan looks anxious as the unwelcome results roll in to campaign headquarters Obama's huge margin of victory belied his slender lead in the national popular vote. By midnight he was in fact a few thousand votes behind Romney, though results in the Pacific appeared likely to push the President slightly over the edge in the final analysis. There were jubilant scenes at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention centre where the President was expected to speak shortly before a star-studded party featuring Stevie Wonder, Mary J Blige, Ashley Judd, Melanie Griffith and Will.i.Am.

Result: CNN lit up the Empire State Building in blue around 11.15pm when Obama was declared the winner

Jumping for joy: Obama fans Shauna Harry and Alana Hearn celebrate the President's re-election

Emotion: An Obama supporter in Nevada breaks down with happiness as other are jubilant

Party: New York Democrats cannot contain their excitement at Obama's election victory source: dailymail

Obama Tweets victory: Second term in the White House turns out to be a walk-over as 'closest-ever' election is decided within hours 2012-11-06T22:23:00-08:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Bona Pasogit