Wednesday November 7, 2012
The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 142 Issue 53
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ELECTIONS 2012
OBAMA RE-ELECTED Popular vote, Florida too close to call; Congress will remain divided next term
P
resident Barack Obama won re-election Tuesday night despite a fierce challenge from Republican Mitt Romney, prevailing in the face of a weak economy and high unemployment that encumbered his first term and crimped the middle class dreams of millions. Romney conceded to Obama in a phone call at about midnight. “This happened because of you. Thank you” Obama tweeted to supporters as he secured four more years in the White House. The president sealed his victory in Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado, four of the nine battleground states where the two rivals and their allies spent nearly $1 billion on dueling television commercials. Ultimately, the result of the brawl of an election campaign appeared likely to be the political status quo. Democrats won two more years of control in the Senate, and, as of press time, Republicans were on track to do likewise in the House. Romney was in Massachusetts, his long and grueling bid for the presidency at an unsuccessful end. The two rivals were close in the popular vote. Romney had 53.6 million votes, or 49 percent. Obama had 54.5 million, 50 percent, as of 1:20 a.m. But Obama’s laser-like focus on battleground states gave him the majority in the electoral vote, where it mattered most. He had 303, or 33 more than needed for victory. Romney had 206. Yet to be settled was battleground state Florida. Here on campus, the Illini Democrats celebrated the victory of their candidate of choice. “We celebrated Obama being re-elected,” said organization President Shana Harrison. “There were some cheers and hugs and excitement. It was a great win to bring home for our team right now.” State Sen. Michael Frerichs, of the 52nd District in Champaign, shared their excitement. “I’m just very happy to hear that result,” Frerichs said Tuesday night. The College Republicans found strength in the gains that the House of Representatives made by obtaining control. “Well, Obama has been re-elected, and basically Gov. Romney and Ryan ran an excellent campaign. They
See OBAMA, Page 6A
“The task of protecting our union moves forward. It moves forward because of you.” BARACK OBAMA, president
Obama
Romney
303
206 Undecided:!29*
*As of 2 a.m., no winner had been declared in Florida.
Incumbents Frerichs, Jakobsson re-elected Democrats state Sen. Mike Frerichs and state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson defeated their Republican challengers Tuesday Page 3A
Davis defeats Gill in contested House race DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
Republicans held on to their seat in Congress at the end of a contentious and expensive race in Illinois’ 13th District after The Associated Press called the election in favor of GOP candidate Rodney Davis. But the campaign for fourtime congressional candidate David Gill declined to concede the race as of press time, saying that uncounted votes could turn the tide of the election. “From what we now know from our discussions with coun-
ty clerks’ offices, there are a significant number of ballots still outstanding in Macon County,” said campaign manager Sherry Greenberg in a press release. “We believe we need to keep counting ballots.” But as of press time, 98 percent of the precincts in the 14 counties in the new district had been counted, with 131,471 voters siding with Davis, compared to 127,662 for Gill. Independent candidate John Hartman had mustered 20,630 votes. But at 46 percent of the vote,
Few incidents with student voting One voter was turned away, but on-campus voting otherwise went smoothly. A total of 4,295 people voted at campus sites. Page 5A
See DAVIS, Page 6A PHOTO BY CHRIS CARLSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
INSIDE
Po l i ce 2 A | H o ro s co p e s 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C ro sswo rd 7 A | Co m i c s 7 A | H e a l t h & L i v i n g 8 A | S p o r t s 1 B | Cl a ss i f i e d s 5 B - 6 B | S u d o ku 6 B