elections day

The United States presidential election of 2012 was the 57th quadrannal presidential election and took place on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The Democratic nominee, President Barack Obama, and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, were elected to a second term. Their major challengers were the Republican nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Four major debates were held during the last weeks of the campaign: three presidential and one vice-presidential. Issues debated included the economy and jobs, the national deficit, social policy, immigration and foreign policy. Although most major media outlets insisted the election was too close to predict a winner in advance, analysts using statistical models, bookmakers and betting markets had Obama as a clear favorite to win.

On November 6, by around 11:15 PM EST, most major television networks projected the winners would be Obama and Biden. At about 1:00 AM EST (6:00 AM GMT) on November 7, Romney conceded the election to Obama, just as the polls in Alaska were closing. As of November 10, the electoral outcomes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia had been definitively projected, with final vote counts still outstanding in some states. Obama carried all the states and districts (among states that allocate electoral votes by district) he had won in the 2008 election except North Carolina, Indiana and Nebraska's 2nd congressional district.