After an intense presidential campaign, the United States of America's destiny for another four years will be governed by Barack Obama, who received the majority of the necessary electoral college votes. Even without counting Florida, Virginia and Nevada's votes, President Obama already had 280 electoral college votes, unlike Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who obtained 208. That being said, Obama has become the first African American to be reelected president and the first Democrat to accomplish this since Bill Clinton left the White House in the year 2000.
In addition to receiving media support from prestigious publications such as The New Yorker and The Washington Post, Obama was already backed by communities of “minorities,” particularly Hispanic voters. In the weeks leading up to the election, polls indicated that 70 percent of the Hispanic voters supported Obama, and another survey reported that seven out of every ten Hispanic voters would also vote for the Democratic nominee [es]. Nonetheless, many of them hope that the Obama administration will pay more attention to topics concerning the Latino community, employment, Voter ID laws, and immigration. With respect to the last issue, Obama promised to amend the split immigration reform during his “victory speech” in Chicago.
Although Obama has made it to the White House and Democrats are maintaining a majority in the Senate, Republicans have taken control of the House of Representatives, meaning the gridlock between Congress and the administration will continue.
Once again Twitter became the barometer for reactions at the conclusion of this electoral journey. The following are tweets from users who, for the most part, recognize that the Hispanic vote was the principal force behind the Obama victory:
@wbonillanu21: Barack Obama aparentemente ha sido reelegido como Presidente; gracias en parte al voto hispano que menosprecio su oponente.
@wbonillanu21: Apparently Barack Obama has been reelected as President; thanks in part to the Hispanic vote that hated his opponent.
@luiscbrinol: Obama ha ganado las elecciones y será renombrado Presidente de los EE.UU. de América. La clave: el voto hispano.
@luiscbrinol: Obama won the election and will be renamed President of the United States of America. The key: the Hispanic vote.
@loroart: ojala y no se olvide el presidente BARACK OBAMA de lo importante que fue el VOTO HISPANO para su victoria
@loroart: I hope President BARACK OBAMA does not forget about the importance of the HISPANIC VOTE for his victory.
@luisg_sal: El voto hispano fue decisivo para reelegir al Presidente Obama. Constituyen una importante fuerza.
@luisg_sal: The hispanic vote was crucial for President Obama's reelection. They make up an important force.
Others like Barnabas Collins (@Whosjesus) assure that Obama is the candidate that the Latino community needs:
@Whoisjesus: Obama es el presidente que la comunidad hispano americana estuvo esperando por tantos años.
@Whoisjesus: Obama is the president that the Hispanic American community was waiting for for so many years.
Jose M Ambia Siliceo's (@joseambia) tweet seeks to be more specific, stating that the Mexican-American vote gave the Democratic candidate the victory:
@joseambia: Gana el Presidente Obama las elecciones presidenciales en Estados Unidos impulsado en forma contundente por el voto México-Americano-Hispano
@joseambia: President Obama wins the presidential election in the United Stated, driven forcefully by the Mexican-American Hispanic vote
Below are photos chronicling the electoral journey in New York City, where, despite the havoc caused by Hurricane Sandy, the election continued as usual. All photos were taken by the author: