After a long campaign against former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama secured his second term as commander in chief.
Reports announced Obama’s win late in the evening on Tuesday Nov. 6 as votes from Virginia surpassed the 270 Electoral College vote quota necessary for his re-election. Though votes are still being counted in Florida, according to The Associated Press, the current 2012 Electoral College vote stands at 303 votes for Obama and 206 for Romney. Obama secured majority support in every swing state except North Carolina.
In his acceptance speech, Obama said, “[America] moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.”
In Romney’s concession speech, he said, “I trust that [Obama’s] intellect and his hard work and his commitment to principle will continue to contribute to the good of our nation.”
Foreign leaders have already responded to the re-election on Wednesday Nov. 7.
According to CBS News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The strategic alliance between Israel and the U.S. is stronger than ever. I will continue to work with President Obama in order to assure the interests that are vital to the security of the citizens of Israel.”
Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev said he is “glad that the person who considers Russia as the number one enemy won’t be the president of the large, influential state – it is paranoia.”
According to AP, a Pakistani government official said that Obama’s victory is “very reassuring for the region.”
Some reactions from the Middle East, however, did not share this assertion.
According to Reuters, Saudi political analyst Khaled Al-Dakheel said that he does not believe the Middle East is as “enthusiastic as they were in 2008.”
“There is a feeling that there is a marginal difference between the two regarding U.S. policy on the Middle East, especially after the third debate when they focused on foreign policy,” he said.
At the national level, some elected Republican officials have said that they hope for future bipartisan solutions that work for the country.
“The American people re-elected the president and re-elected our majority in the House,” said Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. “If there is a mandate, it is a mandate for both parties to find common ground and take steps together to help our economy grow and create jobs, which is critical to solving our debt.”
“Now it’s time for the president to propose solutions that actually have a chance of passing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a closely-divided Senate, step up to the plate on the challenges of the moment and deliver in a way that he did not in his first four years in office,” said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Geneseo College Democrats President senior Jared Meagher and Geneseo College Republicans President junior Isaac Baskin shared their opinions on the local election results.
“[U.S. Rep Kathy] Hochul lost, unfortunately,” Meagher said. “She came in and with redistricting she gained 8,000 more Republicans, but she only lost by [a little over] 4,000 votes; I think that says a lot about how much people liked her.”
“Geneseo College Republicans did their job, [but] the nation didn’t do its job,” Baskin said. “We got a great county congressman elected: Chris Collins. That was a major win in the region that will affect us. It was a slim win but a win nonetheless.”