SPECIAL EDITION
NOVEMBER 7, 2012
THE
ELECTION ISSUE
Windy city celebrates Obama win PAGE B4–B5
Yale votes, volunteers PAGE B6
Romney concedes in Boston PAGE B8
PAGE B2
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
NATION Congress poised for more of the same Elizabeth Warren
Scott Brown*i
Democrat
Republican
53.9%
46.1%
In a hotly-contested race, Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren defeated incumbent Scott Brown, who won the seat two years ago after the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. 95% reporting
Tammy Baldwin*
Tommy Thompson
Democrat
Republican
50.8%
46.6%
Tammy Baldwin made history Tuesday night as the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate. 96% reporting
Timothy Kaine*
George Allen
Democrat
Republican
52.1%
47.9%
The Kaine-Allen race was the most expensive in the country when including outside and candidate spending. Both are former Virginia governors. 99% reporting
BY JOHN AROUTIOUNIAN CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
MASSACHUSETTS
WISCONSIN
VIRGINIA
As the dust clears after one of the most expensive election cycles in recent memory, many political analysts are predicting that the newly elected Congress will continue to face legislative gridlock. With Republicans maintaining control of the House of Representatives and Democrats hanging on to their Senate majority, President Barack Obama will enter a new term with his work cut out for him. Not only has the president faced an uncompromising atmosphere in Congress since Republicans won the House in 2010, but political moderates in Congress also faced losses last night that may speak to the polarization of both parties. “No one is going to break through the gridlock this year. In fact, Congress will be more polarized than before. The last of the moderates are losing,” said Michael Tanner, senior domestic policy fellow at the libertarian CATO Institute. Brian Darling, senior fellow for government studies at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, said he thinks it is unlikely that congressional Republicans will agree to raise revenues in the coming session. “I would expect more of the same we’ve had over the past two years,” Darling said of a Democratic win for both the Senate and the presidency. “It will be virtually impossible to extend all of the Bush tax cuts, but otherwise I don’t think Republicans are going to accede to the idea that we need more tax revenues. The federal
government spends too much, and Republicans will have the incentive to continue focusing on cutting spending.” Darling said that had Romney won and the Senate tightened, Republicans would have been likely to pursue further spending and regulation cuts. Elizabeth Henry ’14, the president of the Yale College Republicans, said she thinks Obama’s re-election will determine congressional action. “The president determines the dynamic, and what happens in Congress will depend on whether we have a president who is committed to bipartisanship,” Henry said. “Every major Obama administration initiative was passed with almost no Republican votes.” But Yale College Democrats President Zak Newman ’13 said that even with both Obama’s reelection and a divided Congress, Republicans will have to compromise more frequently. “They can no longer be the party of ‘no,’” Newman said. Darling identified Obama’s often-touted jobs proposal as a potential legislative priority that might attract bipartisan support in the coming session. But Tanner said he is not optimistic about the prospect for compromise given a recent spike in party polarization. He identified Republicans like New Hampshire Rep. Charlie Bass and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown as members of an endangered breed of party moderates who lost in highly contested races last night. He also noted how “Blue Dogs,” the name given to moderate and conservative
Sherrod Brown*i
Josh Mandel
Claire McCaskill*i
Todd Akin
Democrat
Republican
Democrat
Republican
50.3%
45.1%
54.8%
39.2%
Incumbent Sherrod Brown, first elected to the Senate in 2006, had consistently led the polls by 10 percentage points throughout the race. 99% reporting
Todd Akin drew national criticism in August for his pro-life comments on “legitimate rape,” ultimately losing the race to incumbent Claire McCaskill. 99% reporting
OHIO
Democrats in the House and Senate, suffered heavy losses in 2010 as a “more polarized electorate” voted for conservative, Tea Partybacked Republicans instead. “The Senate is likely getting more polarizing figures on the left and right, like Massachusetts candidate Elizabeth Warren and Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz,” Tanner said. Other moderates, like Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, were defeated by Tea Party conservatives in primary elections. Such polarization is expected to continue because most of those elected to Congress in 2010 will remain in office. Due to Congress’ inability to compromise on significant legislation, three analysts interviewed said they fear the new legislative session will be marked by more “stopgap” measures that offer temporary fixes to immediate budgetary issues but will be more cautious when it comes to seriously tackling budgetary reform and other major priorities, including entitlement reform and Medicare. But Tanner said he predicts the newly elected Congress will still tackle immigration reform, given bipartisan interest in resolving the issue. Prior to yesterday’s election, the Senate was split between 53 Democrats and 47 Republicans. The House of Representatives had 241 Republican members and 191 Democratic members. Contact JOHN AROUTIOUNIAN at john.aroutiounian@yale.edu .
MISSOURI SOURCE: HUFFINGTON POST
*winner, i incumbent
Ballot initiatives present generally progressive results BY HELEN ROUNER CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Although President Barack Obama’s re-election dominated media coverage Tuesday night, several states around the country also made news by voting on particularly divisive social justice issues — and moved in a largely progressive direction. Maine, Maryland and Washington legalized same-sex marriage after long and bitter battles, and Minnesota voted not to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, while four other states legalized marijuana usage in some capacity. Yale students hailing from these states said they were largely unsurprised by the results of the ballot initiatives, characterizing them as evidence of the more liberal values of a younger generation of voters. Amalia Skilton ’13, a campus activist, said activism around marriage equality is especially important for people her age. This past semester, Skilton worked on the “Yes on 1” campaign in Maine, an ultimately successful second attempt to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. In 2009, Maine voters rejected marriage equality after legislation permitting samesex marriage was approved by the state’s legislature and governor. This year, Maine became the first state in which supporters of same-sex marriage collected enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot themselves. All three states were the first in the union to legalize same-sex marriage by popular vote. Same-sex marriage had already been legalized in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia, but only by lawmakers or through court rulings. As of press time, it appeared that in Minnesota, voters had narrowly voted down a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage as well. Hilary O’Connell ’14, president of Yale’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
THE ELECTION 1/20/09–4/4/11
Cooperative, said young LGBTQ invididuals saw legal barriers to marriage equality as communicating that they are “not good enough to form families.” At this point in their lives, she added, many young voters are especially sensitive to that idea, as they are beginning to think about having families of their own in the future. Skilton placed the push towards legalizing same-sex marriage in perspective: She said that she believed other states’ embrace of such legislation — most notably the bipartisan passage of marriage equality legislation in New York last year — infleunced Maine voters’ decisions. “Maine realized same-sex marriage doesn’t cause the end of the world,” she said, adding that organizing in the state since the 2009 initiative’s failure has “changed people’s minds.” Marijuana legalization, another issue traditionally considered important to young voters, also had a landmark Election Day. On Tuesday, Colorado and Washington voted to legalize, regulate and tax recreational marijuana usage, while Massachussetts and Montana voters chose to permit the use of medical marijuana. Maren Hopkins ’14, who hails from Boulder, Co., said she expected her state to legalize the limited possession and sale of marijuana in the election, as it eventually did, in large part because of the votes of young people, particularly in college towns. Massachusetts resident Jonah Bader ’16 said that even though his state had already decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana in 2008, he was surprised that the medical marijuana question passed, especially by such a large margin. “People were worried about Massachusetts’s seeing the same types of abuses of medical marijuana that have been seen in California,” Bader said. Oregon and Arkansas deviated from the trend towards change by voting to keep marijuana usage — recreational and medical respectively — illegal. Travis Heine ’14, the president of Choose Life at Yale, said he saw young
JAN. 20, 2009 Barack Obama is sworn into office as the 44th president of the United States.
people as “fired up” about traditional conservative values. Speaking before the election, he said he would count the passage of Amendment 6 in Florida, a prohibition on the use of state tax money for the provision of abortions, as affirmation of the pro-life movement’s momentum. Florida eventually struck down Amendment 6 on Tuesday, though Montana passed legislation requiring a minor to notify her parents 48 hours in advance of having an abortion. Rafi Bildner ’16, an Obama supporter who spent last night at the Obama headquarters in Chicago, said he saw the legislative trend as representing a shift in the national conversation. “The mainstream in this country is becoming more accepting and more progressive on social issues,” Bildner said. “It’s not just a movement anymore: This is the norm.” National exit polling from CNN as of press time said that 18-29 year olds favored Obama over Republican challenger Mitt Romney by 22 points in Tuesday’s election. Contact HELEN ROUNER at helen.rouner@yale.edu .
FOOD POLICY
SEGREGATION
CA – Proposition 37
NO 54.3%
Requires labeling of food containing genetically engineered ingredients.
DEATH PENALTY CA – Proposition 34
AL – Amendment 4
NO 60.8%
Removes references to segregation of schools and repeals portions relating to the poll tax in the state constitution.
MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION NO 53.9%
Repeals the death penalty and replaces it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
CO – Amendment 64
YES 54.0%
Legalizes recreational use of marijuana with regulations.
GAY MARRIAGE
OR – Measure 80
MD – Question 6
Creates a cannabis commision to regulate the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
YES 52.0%
NO 55.3%
GAMBLING
Approves a law that allows same-sex couples to obtain a civil marriage license.
WA – Initiative 502
MD – Question 7
ME – Question 1
Legalizes and regulates the sale of small amounts of marijuana to people 21 and older.
YES 51.8%
Allows the construction of a new casino in Prince George’s County.
YES 53.3%
Overturns a ban on gay marriage in the state.
AR – Issue 5
MN – Amendment 1
NO 51.5%
NO 51.6%
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Bans same-sex marriage.
Authorizes the use of medical marijuana in the state.
OK – Question 759
WA – Referendum 74
MA – Question 3
Legalizes same-sex marriage in the state.
Allows the use of medical marijuana in the state.
Bans affirmative action programs in the state.
YES 59.2%
YES 51.8%
YES 63.4%
SOURCE: HUFFINGTON POST
*as of press time
OCT. 12, 2009 Secretary of State and 2008 presidential challenger Hillary Clinton declares she will not run against Obama in 2012.
YES 55.4%
JAN. 21, 2010 In a decision, the Supreme Court rules to allow unlimited corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections.
NOV. 2, 2010 Republicans gain 63 seats in the House of Representatives and 6 seats in the Senate in an historically one-sided midterm election.
APR. 4, 2011 Obama officially announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nominee.
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
PAGE B3
CONNECTICUT How we voted
DeLauro, Esty victorious
Connecticut’s results PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES NAME
VOTES
%
Barack Obama and Joseph Biden (D)
740,029
57
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan (R)
544,261
42
Others
15,411
1
57%
42% HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 3
SENATE
JESSICA HILL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., during a rally for Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Chris Murphy in Hartford, Conn. BY MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Come January, veteran 3rd District Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro will once again make her way to Washington. Joining her will be newcomer Democrat Elizabeth Esty LAW ’85, who won the congressional race in Connecticut’s 5th District Tuesday. Incumbent DeLauro, whose district includes much of central Connecticut and New Haven, won with a reported 74 percent of the vote as of press time against Republican challenger Wayne Winsley. Esty won with a far slimmer margin, taking 51 percent of the vote against Republican Andrew Roraback ’83 in the race to succeed Senator-elect Chris Murphy in Connecticut’s 5th District, which includes the northwest part of the state and Waterbury. DeLauro’s and Esty’s victories will result in the continuation of an entirely Democratic Connecticut delegation to the House of Representatives.
I would guess 95 percent of Yalies can’t name who [DeLauro] is running against. DREW MORRISON ’14 Volunteer, New Haven Public Library polling site “I’ve said it so many times in the past, that I take this as an incentive — an incentive to work harder and make a difference to the people in our community, to the middle class, to the people who are less fortunate,” DeLauro said in a victory speech Tuesday night. DeLauro first took office in 1991 and has won re-election with at least 63 percent of the vote in every campaign since. Considered one of the most liberal members of Congress, DeLauro previously worked as the chief of staff for former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, a Democrat who served from 1981 to 2011, when he was replaced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73. She also served as the executive director of EMILY’s List, an organization dedicated to funding female political candidates. DeLauro’s popularity is so great that her name on the ballot may have helped fellow Democratic Congressman Chris Murphy win a hard-fought Senate race for Joseph Liberman’s ’64 LAW ’67 seat, contrary to the more typical trickle-down effect from presidential and senatorial races to congressional and local ones, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said Tuesday morning. “I think it helps that Chris Murphy is bracketed by what I think are two popular Democrats in the 3rd Congressional District, President Obama and Rosa,” DeStefano said. Jimmy Tickey, DeLauro’s campaign manager, agreed with DeStefano’s claim, adding
THE ELECTION 6/2/11-10/4/11
that volunteers for DeLauro’s campaign were also knocking on doors and making calls for Obama and Murphy on Election Day. Despite DeLauro’s high popularity throughout the 3rd District, few Yalies know that she represents them in the House of Representatives. Of 31 students interviewed on Election Day, only four had heard of DeLauro. Drew Morrison ’14, who was checking voters in at the New Haven Public Library early Tuesday morning, said he did not think many Yale students were paying attention to the congressional campaign. “I would guess 95 percent of Yalies can’t name who she’s running against,” Morrison said. Morrison added that this lack of knowledge may stem from Yale students’ uncertain identity as voters. “There’s such an issue of ‘do you identify yourself with New Haven for these couple of years or do you identify with where you’re from?’” Morrison explained. Despite the long odds of his victory, DeLauro’s opponent Winsley, who has worked as a motivational speaker and talk radio host, said throughout the day that he remained optimistic. “I have a better shot than anyone that’s run against her,” Winsley said Tuesday morning. Winsley declined to comment on the structure of his field operation, instead repeating, “We are a small group of determined people.” While Yale students voted in a largely noncompetitive congressional race, voters in northwestern Connecticut, including in Waterbury and Bethel, participated in a much closer contest with fewer than 10,000 votes separating the candidates. Senator-elect Murphy held the seat for six years after serving in the Connecticut State Senate. Both Esty and Roraback also began their political careers in the Connecticut General Assembly, with Esty holding a Connecticut House of Representatives seat for two years and Roraback serving six years in the Connecticut House of Representatives and 12 years in the Connecticut State Senate. Esty campaign spokesman Jeb Fain attributed the win largely to Esty’s organization on the ground, which mobilized a large volunteer force. “We’ve got a great grassroots field organization that [Roraback] just hasn’t been able to match,” Fain told the News. The Roraback campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Tuesday. In Connecticut’s other three congressional districts, Democratic incumbent candidates won re-election. John Larson, who has held the seat since 1999, won in the 1st District; Joe Courtney, who has held the seat since 2007, won in the 2nd District; and Jim Himes, who has held the seat since 2009, in the 4th District. Contact MATTHEW LLOYDTHOMAS at matthew.lloyd-thomas@yale.edu .
JUNE 2, 2011 Mitt Romney announces his candidacy for the Republican presidential nominee. Rick Santorum, Michelle Bachmann and Jon Huntsman announce their candidacies.
NAME
VOTES
%
NAME
VOTES
%
Linda McMahon (R)
541,753
44%
Rosa L. DeLauro* (D)
172,583
74
Chris Murphy (D)
658,996
54%
Wayne Winsley (R)
61,500
26
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 1
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 4
NAME
VOTES
%
NAME
VOTES
%
John B. Larson* (D)
164,732
62
Jim Himes (D)*
83,797
53
John Henry Decker (R)
74,125
30
Steve Obsitnik (R)
73,209
47
S. Michael DeRosa
3556
2
Matthew Corey
1382
1
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 2 NAME
VOTES
%
Joe Courtney* (D)
197,940
67
Paul M. Formica (R)
90,970
31
Dan Reale
2,919
1
Colin D. Bennet
2939
1
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DISTRICT 5 NAME
VOTES
%
Elizabeth Esty (D)
136,674
52
Andrew Roraback (R)
127,334
48
*Incumbent Vote total includes all precincts reported at 2:20 a.m. Wednesday
Murphy defeats McMahon CT SENATE FROM PAGE A1 Hilton Hotel to deliver his acceptance speech, he thanked those involved in his campaign and promised he would fight for the idea that middle-class Americans “who work hard and play fair deserve a chance to make it.” Flanked by a number of senior Connecticut politicians including Attorney General George Jepsen, Governor Dannel Malloy and Senator Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73, Murphy added, “tonight, we proved that we do not have auctions, but elections in this country.” Blumenthal, who defeated McMahon in 2010 to win his seat, saw many parallels between his victory and Murphy’s. “We both faced $50 million ‘negative attack-planned campaign[s],’ and her game plan involved never letting people know where exactly she stood on the issues,” he said in an interview with the News at Murphy’s victory rally. He added that McMahon was not committed to preserving Medicare and Social Security, bringing the troops home from Afghanistan or fighting for women’s rights. As McMahon delivered her concession speech from the stage at the main ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Stamford, the audience booed when the former wrestling magnate said she had called Murphy to offer her congratulations and ask him to “continue to work hard for the people in our state.” “I look back on this campaign with no regrets,” McMahon said. “I don’t think we left a stone unturned, I don’t think we would have done anything differently in the campaign. It was an incredibly well-run, hardfought race.” The crowd jumped on their feet and erupted in cheers of “Linda Governor” when the Republican candidate reminded her supporters that “it is our responsibility to charge, challenge and make sure [Washington] hears what we have to say and they work for us.” Dean Yalanis, a volunteer for McMahon’s campaign in West Hartford, said Murphy’s win comes as no surprise, as “Connecticut is a largely democratic state.” “That said, I believe Linda was the right candidate and I know she would have helped people,” Yalanis added. Steven Mullins, a Justice of the Peace from West Haven, said he was disappointed by the results of the race. “I don’t think the most capable and qualified candidate won, but I’m wishing for the best,” he said. While elated by his victory, no one who attended Murphy’s rally was surprised at the outcome. “I wasn’t surprised [Murphy] won in a landslide,” said Matthew Hopkins, a police officer in Hartford, adding that McMahon’s “horrendous” commercials backfired and revealed her inability to connect with most people. Allan Marks, a rep-
AUGUST 13, 2011 Michele Bachmann wins Iowa’s Ames straw poll. Rick Perry announces entry into the Republican primary race.
MARGARET NEIL/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
U.S. Senator-elect Chris Murphy delivers his victory speech in Hartford, Conn. resentative for District 8 in Fairfield, said that “Murphy is down to earth and smart — somebody I could relate to.” McMahon received voter disapproval for campaign tactics like the doorhangers that were distributed encouraging voters to vote for her and Obama. “The trickery that she supports Obama is unethical,” said Lois Santiago, a retiree who used to work in the office of Chris Dodd. Even McMahon supporters voiced their dissent against McMahon’s split-ticket advertisement tactics. Shannon Burkle, a Middletown resident and McMahon supporter, said she did not approve of the campaign’s tactics to deploy such advertisements tying McMahon to U.S. President Barack Obama. “People should vote Linda for her policies, not because she supports Obama,” Burkle said. Of roughly 40 people interviewed by the News at different polling locations across the city, all predicted Murphy would win. “Linda might be tough, but not tough enough to take on Washington,” Alberta Witherspoon, a New Haven resident and Murphy supporter, said Tuesday afternoon Preliminary figures indicate that Mur-
AUGUST 14, 2011 Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announces his withdrawal from the Republican primary.
phy did especially well in New Haven and with the Yale student body, taking 85 percent of the 1300 student votes in Ward 1 alone, according to the Yale College Democrats. Two of the polling locations visited by Yale students — the New Haven Free Public Library and the Wexler Grant School — saw “solid lines” starting as early as 6 a.m., said Ward 1 Alderwoman Sarah Eidelson ‘12. Around 5 p.m., the line around the New Haven Public Library was over an hour long, snaking around the corner and doubling up inside the building. Eidelson attributed the strong students turnout at the polls to Murphy’s efforts to “mobilize college students” across Connecticut. “This race is really about the values we want our government to operate on, whether it’s college grants, jobs, or women’s right to control their body,” she said. At 39, Murphy will be the youngest Senator in Congress. Contact LORENZO LIGATO at lorenzo.ligato@yale.edu, MARGARET NEIL at margaret.neil@yale.edu and RISHABH BHANDARI at rishabh.bhandari@yale.edu .
SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 Obama addresses a joint meeting of Congress to propose jobs bill.
OCTOBER 4, 2011 Amid speculation, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announces he will not run for president in 2012.
PAGE B4
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
CHICAGO Chicago crowds go wild BY DIANA LI STAFF REPORTER CHICAGO, Ill. — Suzie Hernandez woke up yesterday with a feeling that President Obama was going to be reelected and convinced three of her colleagues to make the four-hour-long drive from their hometown in Ohio to Chicago to celebrate at the end of Election Day. “Four years ago today, I stayed home and watched Obama win on TV,” Hernandez said. “But I wished I was down here, so I got up and recruited people to come with me. They said I was crazy, but I got them to come anyway.” Others came from even farther away — Gabriel Peron and Morgane Kaluzinski, of London, made the trip all the way to Chicago this year. Proud supporters of Obama, the two came to Chicago four years ago to celebrate his victory and said they felt it was important for them to show up in person and demonstrate their support.
I’ve been crying. I brought my son both times because I want him to remember history. KIM KNIGHT Celebration attendee While both reporters and taxi drivers in downtown Chicago said that the city seemed empty and the level of enthusiasm lower than in the 2008 election, spending just a few minutes at Thompson Center, where many Obama supporters congregated Tuesday night, suggested otherwise. Cars honked in the streets and people — some half-naked, despite the chilly weather — ran through the plaza, screaming and celebrating. One man held his bike up over his head in triumph.
Even after President Obama was declared the winner by several major news organizations at 11:33 p.m., people came pouring into the plaza. As already-old news of each state’s winner flashed across the screen, the crowd booed and cheered as if the election results were new. Cold rain was not enough to deter people from staying, and some people, who had brought chairs with them, had camped out in the plaza when the screen was first set up. Like Hernandez, K im Knight said she decided the chance of seeing Obama celebrate re-election was worth a long drive. Together with her son Joseph Knight, she made the trip from Burlington, Iowa and left as soon as her son got out of school. “I was a lot more nervous this year — I’ve been crying,” she said. “I brought my son both times because I want him to remember history. He was so young when I brought him four years ago. “But he still remembers,” she nudged her son as he smiled. There were a number of other young faces in the crowd. Bronte Phipps, an 11-year-old called the celebration “fascinating.” She said she loved being part of an event in which all these different people came together, while fellow 11-yearold Caitlin Preuss, who stood next to her, chimed in and said the presidential debates are her favorite part of the whole election process. For Kansas resident Andrea Mick, it was necessary to come to Chicago to truly express her opinions about Tuesday night’s election. “We don’t have anything like this in Kansas to support Obama, because … well, basically it’s not allowed in Kansas,” she said. No matter their hometown, the crowd outside the Thompson Center all celebrated Obama’s victory differently. At the announcement of President Obama’s re-election,
CHARLES CHERNEY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
one woman at the very front of the crowd broke into tears, speechless as a group of photographers gathered around her to capture her reaction. She simply buried her face in her hands and looked up in disbelief every few seconds. Her friend laughed and joked — “He won, silly!” — but she continued to sob. Whether people were crying or cheering, though, one thing was clear: the hope Obama championed in his 2008 campaign was still alive and well among those at the heavily attended celebration Tuesday night. President Obama served as a senator from Illinois before running for president in 2008. Contact DIANA LI at diana.li@yale.edu .
DIANA LI/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Hispanic campaign workers in Ohio canvass for President Obama’s reelection campaign.
Little surprise among Obama supporters BY MICHELLE HACKMAN STAFF REPORTER CHICAGO, Ill. — Long before major news networks declared President Barack Obama the victor in last night’s presidential race, his base in Chicago started celebrating his victory. Standing in line to enter the Obama campaign’s victory rally, Erica Brown said she was entering the festivities with the expectation that the president would win a second term. “My expectations are out of the stratosphere,” she said. “He’s got this.”
He is for the people, and he cares about the people, and that’s why there are so many people here to support him. PAYAL GANDHI Attendee, Victory rally
SPENCER GREEN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
First lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, applaud as re-elected President Barack Obama, hugs his Vice President Joesph R. Biden.
THE ELECTION 10/5/11–1/4/12
OCTOBER 5, 2011 Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin announces she will not run for President in 2012.
OCTOBER 11, 2011 Former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani announces he will not run for President in 2012.
DECEMBER 3, 2011 Herman Cain announces the suspension of his campaign for the Republican Party presidential nomination.
For Brown and many of those in her position, a number of indications in the past few days and weeks already seemed certain proof that of a second Obama triumph. Nate Silver, a pollster who runs the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight, consistently projected above a 65 percent chance of an Obama victory throughout the last two weeks of the presidential campaign. In the days leading up to the election, Silver’s projection crept up to a 90 percent chance that
JANUARY 3, 2012 Victory in the Iowa Republican caucuses is initially declared for for Romney, then Santorum then Ron Paul. Obama wins the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
the incumbent would prevail. Meanwhile, a positive final preelection jobs report also boosted the hopes of Obama fans across the nation. So when another attendee in line, Cassandra Prince, was asked whether Romney had a fighting chance, she found the idea inconceivable. “I think [Republicans] are hard on [Obama] because of who he is as a person,” she said. “But he said it would take him two terms to clean up this mess, and he has done 99 percent of everything he’s promised to do.” In fact, the sometimesblind enthusiasm for President Obama in Chicago may have, for some people, eclipsed a more realistic snapshot of the nation’s consciousness. Prince’s friend, Payal Gandhi, suggested that turnout at Obama’s Victory Party — an event that rewards Obama campaign volunteers with tickets — is an indication of the support he holds across the country. “He is for the people, and he cares about the people, and that’s why there are so many people here to support him,” she said. Pastor Henry Holloway, who was standing in line right behind Prince and Gandhi, nodded vigorously. “Honestly, too bad he can’t serve four more years after these four more years,” Holloway said. By Election Night, Silver gave Obama a 90.9 percent chance of victory. Contact MICHELLE HACKMAN at michelle.hackman@yale.edu .
JANUARY 4, 2012 Representative Michele Bachmann, who came in sixth in Iowa, announces the suspension of her Presidential campaign.
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
PAGE B5
CHICAGO Chicago residents reminisce about Obama’s roots BY DIANA LI STAFF REPORTER CHICAGO — Signs supporting President Barack Obama lined the storefronts on 53rd Street in Hyde Park, a place that residents have affectionately nicknamed “Obamatown” and “Obamanation.” Despite his rapid rise in politics as Illinois senator and then president, President Obama has still kept in touch with people in his hometown, local residents said. All of them declared with conviction that Obama was not the type to forget about his roots. His life in Hyde Park, they said, taught him the values of humility, hard work and cooperation — all principles they see as defining characteristics of his first term as president. Michael Sullivan, 50, said he first noticed Obama when he did work as a community activist at Altgeld Gardens, a public housing project where Obama helped campaign to get rid of asbestos in construction materials. “I had no idea he was going to elevate to the level he did,” said Sullivan, who traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend Obama’s inauguration in January 2009. “But he had his boots on the ground, and he’s a hands-on type of guy. He’s always helping people and helping the community.” Ray Bailey, 76, said Obama’s choice to operate his re-election campaign out of Chicago showed that he still keeps his hometown in mind and that he still remains faithful to his origins. Obama needs a second term, Bailey added, in order to undo the “catastrophe” — from economic turmoil to wars abroad — caused by former President George W. Bush ’68. For Bailey, Republican candidate Mitt Romney only had the potential to stir another catastrophe. “Hyde Park’s got some of everybody,” Bailey said. “Here we all work together, and I doubt Romney knows anything about that.”
Sullivan and Bailey were both enjoying meals at Valois, a restaurant in Hyde Park and one of Obama’s favorite eateries. Spiro Argiris, owner of Valois, said the president would have breakfast there every morning earlier in his life, and that even after getting married and having kids, he made an effort to come during weekends. Upon entering the restaurant, customers are greeted by a red, white and blue menu offering many of “President Obama’s Favorites,” created in honor of Obama’s frequent patronage at the restaurant. When asked about Obama’s start in the area, Argiris identified Hyde Park as one of the poorest areas in Chicago.
Here [at Hyde Park] we all work together, and I doubt Romney knows anything about that. RAY BAILEY Hyde Park resident
“He lived all his life with very poor people, and any time you grow up with nothing and you work yourself to get some place, you understand the everyday people,” Argiris said. Ishmael Coye, the owner of the barbershop that Obama frequented until he was elected to the Oval Office in 2008, recalled Obama as a downto-earth figure who just liked to talk about sports. “We’d talk about what teams he liked and the teams he thought were going to make it to playoffs, but never politics,” Coye said. “He’s really connected to the common person.”
STEPHANIE RIVKIN/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Crowds in Chicago were jubilant as television networks called the election for President Barack Obama Tuesday night.
Contact DIANA LI at diana.li@yale.edu .
DIANA LI/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Valois, an eatery in Hyde Park, Chicago, featured a menu of “President Obama’s Favorites.”
Support for Obama remains strong OBAMA FROM PAGE A1 “Suck on that, red!” yelled a proud Obama supporter as he ran across the street to join the growing crowd of hundreds. Lorena Pachecl, a Chicago resident who said she was at a bar but wanted to “get a little rowdy,” decided to join the watch party long after Obama was declared the winner. She barely finished her comment before joining a chant of “USA! USA!” Romney offered a concession speech at around 12:55 a.m. in which he thanked his supporters and announced that he had called Obama to congratulate him on the election victory. Shortly after 2:00 a.m., Obama emerged onstage before an elated crowd with his wife and daughter to give his victory speech. The Chicago native voiced gratitude for sup-
THE ELECTION 1/10/12-1/31/12
port throughout the campaign and resolved to lead the nation through current, albeit controversial, issues, including global warming, LGBTQ rights and immigration reform. With an affirmation of support from the day’s vote, Obama’s message to the country returned to the mantra of hope defined his 2008 campaign, citing an enduring national spirit that leads Americans to “keep reaching” and “keep fighting.” “I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggest,” Obama said. “We’re not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states.” Exit polls from Tuesday voting indicated that Obama per-
formed particularly well among youth and minority voters. Data indicated younger voters turned out in even higher numbers than in 2008, and Obama won an estimated 70 percent or more of African-American, Asian and Latino voters, as well as posting large leads among women. Early in the evening, Romney led Obama in the national popular vote, leaving some observers to fear that the race would pan out much the like 2000 presidential race, in which George W. Bush ’68 was not declared victorious until weeks after Election Day. But as the night drew on, Obama’s Election Day edge grew and it became clear that the president would sail to a comfortable margin of victory. Political experts have cited the Obama campaign’s early spring and summer attack ad strategy,
in which the campaign painted Romney as an elitist who was out of touch with the American people, as a major factor in his victory. Romney’s campaign, by contrast, launched a majority of its attack ads in the fall, after voters in key swing states had seen months of anti-Romney advertisements produced by the Obama camp. “The American people just chose people over profits,” said Chris Olsen, a Chicago resident who celebrated the president’s victory in the Thompson Center plaza. “He’s more for the people. Romney was all about money.” Sean Smith, a lecturer on media, politics and global affairs at the Jackson Institute, said that Romney’s biggest failure when appealing to voters was his campaign’s reliance on Romney’s image as the non-Obama candi-
date. “He tried to establish a narrative to say that the biggest deficit the incumbent has is understanding of the economy and business, and [he personifies] understanding of business through Bain Capital, so he is the antidote to the incumbent,” Smith said. Meanwhile, some Republicans have pointed to Hurricane Sandy as a major reason for their candidate’s defeat, blaming the massive storm for distracting the American public from the race and giving the president several days of positive media coverage during disaster relief efforts. But Obama’s victory is sure to bring struggles in the nation’s not-so-distant future. On Jan. 1, the nation is due to fall off what has been deemed a “fiscal cliff,” a series of automatic deep spending cuts and tax increases that both
parties in Congress desperately want to avoid. Neither party has acted to come to a compromise before last night’s election, and U.S. Senate and House Republicans have expressed unwillingness in recent weeks to compromise if the White House remained in Democratic hands. Though this campaign likely marks Romney’s last, the Republican challenger’s running mate Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was simultaneously re-elected to his house seat. Obama is the first Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt to win re-election with over 50 percent of the vote. He will be sworn in for his re-election on Jan. 20.
JANUARY 10, 2012 Obama and Romney win the New Hampshire primaries for their respective parties.
JANUARY 16, 2012 Huntsman, who came in third in New Hampshire, withdraws from the race and endorses Romney.
JANUARY 19, 2012 Perry, who came in sixth in New Hampshire, withdraws from the race and endorses Gingrich.
JANUARY 21, 2012 Gingrich wins the South Carolina Republican primary.
JANUARY 31, 2012 Obama and Romney win the Florida primaries for their respective parties.
Contact MICHELLE HACKMAN at michelle.hackman@yale.edu and DIANA LI at diana.li@yale.edu .
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YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
CAMPUS Yale reaction to Obama win subdued REACTIONS FROM PAGE A1 their run around Old Campus. But the tone on campus was different Tuesday night than it was on the evening of Nov. 4, 2008. Most students did not surge onto Old Campus and no 700-person crowd belted the national anthem. Facebook erupted with celebratory statuses, but after the initial cheers, campus was oddly quiet. “The reaction wasn’t what I hoped it to be,” Azad Amanat ’14 said. He compared the relatively modest celebrations throughout Yale with a photo his cousin had sent him of a huge celebration at the University of California, Berkeley. Brandon Jackson ’13, who was at Yale during the 2008 election, said the mood on campus did not compare to that following Obama’s 2008 election. Despite the election buzz that gripped campus Tuesday, students interviewed said Yale’s relatively liberal student body was more anxious about a Romney victory than they were enthused about an Obama win. “People who are watching the results come in tonight are expecting relief, not elation, if their candidate wins,” Clair Sulerzyski ’15 said Tuesday afternoon. When CNN called Obama’s victory shortly after 11 p.m., roughly 100 students watching election coverage on a projector in the Ezra Stiles dining hall cheered, but many soon began gathering their belongings to leave. A security guard announced the victor over the intercom in Bass Library around 11:30 p.m., said Alex Goel ’14, and later asked students leaving the library, “What are you guys doing studying?” But Yale College Democrats President Zak Newman ’13 said the turnout rate for Yale students was higher than it was in 2008.
Roughly 1,350 people cast their ballots at the New Haven Public Library, representing New Haven’s Ward 1 voting district, which is composed largely of students. Activists from both sides kept busy Tuesday, rising early to vote and begin a last canvassing effort. By the time most students rolled out of bed, chalk arrows on the sidewalks directed citizens towards the polls, flyers and signs coated the campus and the line for the Public Library polling station already snaked out the door. The Yale College Democrats spent much of the day knocking on doors with clipboards and calling students’ cell phones to remind them to vote. Elizabeth Henry ’14, chairwoman of the Yale College Republicans, said the group reached out to every Yale student registered to vote Republican in Connecticut, as well as some unaffiliated students, to make sure they knew where to go to vote. By the afternoon, the line outside the New Haven Public Library voting station was almost an hour long, with students carrying laptops and books while they waited to cast their ballots and emerge from the library with “I voted” stickers. Throughout the day, Facebook newsfeeds exploded with politically-minded statuses, with students proudly declaring they had voted, often for the first time, and urging their peers to do the same. With the election over, campus was largely still by midnight. Yuval Ben-David, Jeffrey Dastin and Shira Telushkin contributed reporting. Contact SOPHIE GOULD at sophie.gould@yale.edu .
L-R: SARAH ECKINGER/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR; EMILIE FOYER/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Though celebrations were modest compared to those in 2008, students cheered when Obama’s victory was announced.
Political groups tense around election BY CORINNE KENTOR CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Yesterday, members of the Yale College Democrats and Yale College Republicans donned T-shirts, buttons and, in some cases, war paint, as they prepared for the culmination of more than a year and a half of work. It was Election Day. More than 18 hours later, the Dems raucously celebrated President Barack Obama’s victory over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. It was a “truly joyous occasion,” said Brinton Williams ’16, who added that the Dems members around him were yelling and hugging one another. Gathered in the AEPi house on Crown Street, the young liberals cheered as states turned from undecided grey to Democratic blue, filling in their own hand-drawn version of the United States electoral map with red and blue Sharpies. Gathered in the Silliflicks theater on the other side of campus, members of the Yale College Republicans said they were supportive of Obama as American citizens, but that they were not optimistic about his second term. The atmosphere among YCR members throughout the night was initially “tense, but hopeful,” according to Austin Schaefer ’15, vice chairman of the
Yale College Republicans, but members grew increasingly anxious as more results were announced, booing television reports on Fox News, their outlet of choice, as more states fell to the Democratic incumbent. Members of both organizations spent the morning and afternoon of Election Day urging registered voters to go to the polls and canvassing neighborhoods throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, said the two organizations’ presidents. Each added that the campus groups were very concerned with the Connecticut Senate race, which had the potential to swing in favor of either Democrat Chris Murphy or Republican Linda McMahon. “Most of the [Dems] volunteers are working on Connecticut and the Murphy campaign,” said Zak Newman ’13, the president of the Dems. Schaefer said being able to support a Republican candidate in a traditionally blue state enabled his group to “be actively involved and make a difference.” Yale College Republicans chairwoman Elizabeth Henry ’14 said Election Day found her more excited than ever to be a young Republican. Both groups took steps to transmit that enthusiasm to Yale’s student body.
EUGENE YI/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
SARA MILLER/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Members of student groups worked on the local and national elections.
THE ELECTION 3/6/12–8/11/12
MAR. 6, 2012 During the Republican Party’s “Super Tuesday,” Romney wins six states, Santorum wins three states and Gingrich wins Georgia
Beginning at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, Newman said, the Dems divided their resources and volunteers among the 12 residential colleges to ensure high student turnout. Volunteers spent the first hour of Election Day posting cards on student doors encouraging all registered Connecticut voters to “Vote Obama, Vote Murphy, Vote Today.” Two and a half hours later, a group of Dems went to cast their ballots. Ben Healy ’16, a Dems member, said he and other volunteers spent the rest of the day reminding students to vote by going door-to-door throughout the Yale campus and calling registered students on the phone to offer them rides to the polls. “The best part of today [was that] the response I heard most frequently was ‘I already voted,’ ” Newman said. The Dems were not alone in their efforts. MeCHA de Yale worked throughout the course of the campaign to combat voter suppression among Hispanic voters in Fair Haven, Conn., said group leader Diana Enriquez ’13. She added that groups like hers enabled students who did not necessarily have a direct interest in working with either of the major parties on campus to still get involved in the political process by helping to educate voters in the Latino community. Meanwhile, activist organization Students Unite Now also joined with the Dems in efforts to get out the vote, Williams said. By midnight on Tuesday night, the Dems were in high spirits, while the Republicans looked pessimistically on the next four years. “I think it’s a really regrettable thing that Obama has won a second term,” said Alex Crutchfield ’15, a Republican student. “Over the past four years, he has not made policies that are good for America.” Rafi Bildner ’16, who spent the past year working in the finance department of the Obama campaign, disagreed. He said he flew to Chicago Monday night to help out at Obama HQ on Election Day. Bildner said he sees students as having an even larger impact on this election than they did in 2008. Newman said he agreed, adding that the large turnout among Yale students — which was higher than in 2008 — indicates the success of on-campus organizations like the Yale College Republicans and the Dems. “At the end of the day,” he added, “I think we know we did our job well.” Obama received 60.4 percent of the vote in New Haven county as of press time. Contact CORINNE KENTOR at corinne.kentor@yale.edu .
APR. 25, 2012 Romney is declared the presumptive Republican nominee by the RNC.
Campus groups contribute to campaign BY PATRICK CASEY CONTRIBUTING REPORTER As election spending reached new highs this year — Connecticut’s Senate race was the sixth most expensive in the country, and spending on the presidential race was the highest in history — several student groups on campus have helped contribute to the campaign funds. In Connecticut, despite Republican candidate Linda McMahon’s 4-to-1 financial advantage over her opponent, Democrat Chris Murphy, she fell to the former representative on Tuesday night. According to OpenSecrets. com, McMahon, whose campaign was 96 percent self-financed, raised $41.5 million dollars and spent $36.1 million in the 2012 election cycle, a significantly larger amount than Murphy, who raised $9.3 million and spent $8.6 million. In the presidential race, each candidate has spent roughly $1 billion during the course of the election. As campaign spending reaches historical levels, Yale undergraduates have raised money for campaigns throughout this election cycle. SNAP PAC, a student-run political action committee, helped fund the Murphy campaign and several other Senate and congressional campaigns, President Matthew Breuer ’14 said. “Our organization is a great example of the difference between Linda McMahon and Chris Murphy,” Breuer said. “We’re a group of college students who are trying to pay to give some people the opportunity to work on a race and make a difference on a small level.” Instead of directly donating money, Breuer said, SNAP works with campaign organizers to guarantee that the money goes toward funding a student fellow to work on the campaign for a certain amount of time. According to OpenSecrets.org, the group raised $81,435 — a larger number than the $48,432 they raised in the 2010 cycle — and Breuer said it funded 35 fellows this
year to work on Democratic campaigns across the country. “Our view is this: You know, anyone can cut a $5,000 check to a campaign they believe in and watch that evaporate in 30 seconds on a TV ad,” he said. Murphy was one of the first candidates SNAP chose to endorse shortly after its founding in 2006, when he first ran for Congress, and this summer SNAP sponsored two field organizers on his Senate bid, Breuer said. The Yale College Democrats have a political action committee called Bulldog Democrats PAC, but the group uses its PAC funds to support campaign-related activities for its members instead of donating directly to candidates, said Kyle Tramonte ’15, treasurer of the Yale College Democrats. But Yale College Republicans President Elizabeth Henry ’14 said her organization does not focus its attention on fundraising for campaigns. The group receives funding from the Undergraduate Organizations Committee, she said, and does not donate any funds to campaigns. She said she thinks that because her group has fewer members than the Dems, the Yale Republicans face less pressure to fundraise and can focus on phone banking, canvassing and other campaign work. “We do canvassing, but usually it’s paid for by the campaign — we don’t pay for it,” she said. “When we did phone banking for Linda McMahon, the McMahon campaign provided the phones, provided everything for us.” On the national stage, President Barack Obama’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee and outside groups have all put more than $932 million toward Obama’s re-election, compared to $750 million in the 2008 campaign. Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s side has spent close to $1.03 billion on his bid for the White House. Contact PATRICK CASEY at patrick.casey@yale.edu .
BY THE NUMBERS CAMPAIGN SPENDING 934.0m 852.9m 881.8m 752.3m
MAY 2, 2012 Gingrich suspends his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination and endorses Mitt Romney.
Dollars raised by Barack Obama, the Democratic Party and Priorities USA Action Super PAC. Dollars spent by Barack Obama, the Democratic Party and Priorities USA Action Super PAC. Dollars raised by Mitt Romney, the Republican Party and Restore Our Future Super PAC. Dollars spent by Mitt Romney, the Republican Party and Restore Our Future Super PAC.
JULY 2, 2012 At a Roanoke, Va. campaign rally, Obama uses the phrase “You didn’t build that” to describe business’s reliance on public infrastructure.
AUG. 11, 2012 House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan is announced as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential candidate.
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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THROUGH THE LENS
P
hotographers Brianne Bowen, Cynthia Hua, Eugene Yi, Lorenzo Ligato and Sara Miller capture the spirit and excitement of the 2012 elections at Yale and across the country.
THE ELECTION 08/27/12-10/03/12
AUG. 27-30, 2012 At the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa Fla., Romney and Ryan are nominated for President and Vice President, respectively.
SEPT. 3-6, 2012 At the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Obama and Biden are nominated for President and Vice President, respectively.
SEPT. 11, 2012 The U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya is attacked. Ambassador Christopher Stevens is killed.
SEPT. 17, 2012 At a fundraising dinner in Boca Raton, Fla., Romney describes “47 percent” of Americans as recipients of undue entitlements and as guaranteed voters for Obama.
OCT. 3, 2012 The first presidential debate is held at the University of Denver in Denver, Co.
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YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
BOSTON Romney’s gubernatorial legacy questioned BY CYNTHIA HUA STAFF REPORTER BOSTON, Mass. — Although Obama won Massachusetts last night by 23 percentage points as of press time, Gov. Mitt Romney’s headquarters — and the beginnings of his political career — are in Boston. Several Boston residents interviewed on Election Day recalled their largely lukewarm feelings about Romney, who served as the state’s governor from 2003 to 2007. While some citizens said they supported Romney during his gubernatorial campaign, they have since come to identify less with him due to a perceived shift to the right during his presidential campaign. On the steps of Quincy Market, 25-year-old Lisa Gurin predicted Obama’s win in Massachusetts. Romney finished his term as governor with a 34 percent approval rating, Gurin said, and his popularity among Bostonians has not improved since the end of his term. North-end resident John Savaggio, still a student when Romney was elected governor, said his school lost and lacked funding largely due to Romney’s policies. Karen Tokos, a public school teacher at the time, agreed, saying that Romney cut both funding and staffing at her school. But one downtown businessman voting Tuesday night at Tufts said that Romney left his governorship after balancing the budget, lowering taxes, reaching across the aisles and improving schools. “I think he did everything he said he would do,” he added. “The state was left in a good condition.” Additionally, five Massachusetts residents interviewed remembered Romney’s work on health care in a positive light. Savaggio said that Romney’s unpopularity during his term as governor may have resulted from him being “closed off and inaccessible.” Downtown resident Donna Wolff said she recalls Rom-
ney spending much of his term as governor on his presidential campaign. “My sister said to me, ‘He was governor? I don’t even remember him,’” Wolff said. “He was out of the state as much as he was in it.” Romney took many trips out-ofstate and was largely absent, said Jose Alvarez, who has lived in Boston for over 30 years. Alvarez said he thinks Romney primarily hoped to improve his personal career rather than the lives of Massachusetts’ citizens due to these frequent out-of-town trips. Gurin said part of her persisting dissatisfaction with Romney stems from what she perceives as Romney’s shifting positions since the start of his presidential campaign, particularly on issues related to women’s rights. Savaggio agreed, saying that he “seems to never take a specific point of view on anything.” “When he was governor, he identified with people better — he was surrounded by Democrats and more liberal,” Gurin said. “Now, he’s in a bubble of Republicans.” John McCarrick said he still remembers casting his vote for Romney that year. Romney’s gubernatorial campaign began much like his presidential campaign — he was a “businessman coming in to balance the Commonwealth deficit,” McCarrick said. While Romney has largely advocated for traditionally conservative lowtax policies, Alvarez said that beginning around his second term, the years of Romeny’s governorship were “taxachusetts.” “When he was governor, this was the highest tax-paying state in the union,” Alvarez said, adding that he noticed price increases even on candy bars at the store. Romney received his B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1971 and his M.B.A. and J.D. from Harvard University in 1975. Contact CYNTHIA HUA at cynthia.hua@yale.edu .
CYNTHIA HUA/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Though Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts, he lost the state by 23 percentage
Boston buzzes with election excitement BY MONICA DISARE STAFF REPORTERS BOSTON — At 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, hundreds of Mitt Romney supporters poured into buses en route to the TD Garden convention center, the site of Romney’s Election Night event. The buses’ atmosphere was tense but optimistic. “Alright, this is what we’ve waited so long for,” announced one Romney supporter as he climbed on the bus. When the buses arrive at the convention center, they were greeted by an imposing sign reading “Election Night 2012” and red, white and blue lights projecting an American flag onto the side of the massive silver building. Upon entering, Romney supporters — donned in red, white and blue headbands — were greeted by two large screens displaying the latest election results. Up two flights of stairs sat the ballroom, which held a stage surrounded by flags and patriotic images of eagles.
Mitt Romney took the stage as the failed Republican presidential candidate beneath a sign that read “Believe in America.” But the action did not start there — throughout the day, Boston’s residents were buzzing about Election Day festivities. Boston’s polling locations were unusually overcrowded, according to voters interviewed at four polling locations. After waiting for 50 minutes at his polling location in Brookline, Mass., Gerald Selvin predicted that the overcrowding would only get worse — “Tonight [the polls are] going to be chaos.” By Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of people waited in line to vote at Boston City Hall. One woman said she had been voting at Boston City Hall for 40 years, but she had never seen lines as long as Tuesday’s. “Well, the Eisenhower years were pretty long,” she added. At the Boston Aquarium, two middle school students and one elementary school student on a
class trip said they had voted for President Obama in their school elections. A banker in the Starbucks said that he and 90 percent of his friends who worked “upstairs” would be casting votes for Romney because they found Romney’s financial policies more business-friendly. Throughout Boston, bars offered special drinks to celebrate Election Day, such as the “Libertini”, which consists of stoli sticky, blue curacao, basil and sour, and the “kick-ass,” which contained tequila, red sangria, domaine de danton. Several people interviewed said they thought the connection between Boston and Romney — the former governor of Massachusetts — had worn thin since he left office in 2007. “It’s funny to think that the celebration is going to be tonight, downtown at the convention center,” Reed Juckett said in a coffee shop a block away from Romney headquarters, “It’s not like Massachusetts is a toss-up
state.” Ian Vigue, a young voter at a Hyde Park polling location, said his friends who are “pretty liberal” hate it when Romney refers to Massachusetts as “his state.” Though the general Boston trend seemed to fall in Obama’s favor — he won by roughly 13 percent of the vote in Massachusetts — several segments of the city came out in favor of Romney. Four small business owners interviewed in Boston’s North End district said they planned to vote for Romney. Albe Alba, the owner of a fruit store, said he appreciates Romney’s education policies during his time as governor. But despite Boston’s election buzz, Romney could not win in the state that once elected him governor. “That’s rough losing the state that your house is in — well, one of your houses,” he said. Contact MONICA DISARE at monica.disare@yale.edu .
Romney concedes defeat ELECTION FROM PAGE 1 “Paul and I have left everything on the field,” he said. Romney’s speech and the election’s results drew mixed reactions from the crowd. Heidi Geiser said she “wished [Romney] had spoken more from the heart” and that she felt the speech sounded rehearsed rather than sincere.
Paul and I have left everything on the field. MITT ROMNEY
upset as they could have been, given the party’s loss in 2008. “Our skin’s a little bit thicker this time around,” Laughlin said. As Romney supporters left the convention at the end of the night, hope was not completely lost for the Republicans: a man stood on the sidewalk and tried to sell Romney buttons to passersby. Contact MONICA DISARE at monica.disare@yale.edu . Contact CYNTHIA HUA at cynthia.hua@yale.edu .
Although Romney’s loss was devastating to many at the convention hall, Ryan Laughlin said the Republicans were not as
CYNTHIA HUA/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, standing alongside their wives, concede the election.
THE ELECTION 10/11/12–10/29/12
OCT. 11, 2012 The vice presidential debate is held at Centre College in Danville, Ky.
OCT. 16, 2012 The second presidential debate is held at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.
OCT. 22, 2012 The third presidential debate is held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
OCT. 25, 2012 Obama casts his vote in Chicago, Ill.
OCT. 29, 2012 Hurricane Sandy reaches the East Coast, putting the campaign on hold for a few days.
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
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ELECTION 2012 Ward 1 voters support Obama BY CHRISTOPHER PEAK STAFF REPORTER After President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign brought record-breaking numbers of young voters to the polls, many pundits thought this year would see far less enthusiasm. But over a thousand students waited outside the Ward 1 New Haven Public Library polling station for over an hour in near-freezing temperatures yesterday, casting 1,346 votes in the competitive race between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Obama, who was re-elected. The president won 82 percent of the votes cast in Ward 1, a New Haven voting district composed almost entirely of Old Campus and eight residential colleges. Former Ward 1 Co-Chair Amalia Skilton ’13 said the number of votes cast by young voters this year may be higher than the number cast in the 2008 election.
Obama has not been given a fair chance these four years. I would hate for him to be a one-term president. RUTH NAKAAR ’14 “Our generation is extremely liberal compared to the past,” said Cole Florey ’14, who voted for Obama yesterday. “Since a lot of these policies are going to affect us the most, youth are excited to vote.” With a sluggish economy and
many of Obama’s 2008 campaign promises unfulfilled, support for the Democrats among young voters nationally waned in this year’s election, with CBS News’ early exit poll showing Obama leading by a margin of 56 percent to 40 percent, a 10 percent drop from his victory over Republican Senator John McCain in 2008. A study of exit polls by the Pew Research Center in that year concluded that two-thirds of youth voters cast their ballot for Obama, and pundits credited Obama’s victory in Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana to high turnout among those under age 30. Of 30 students interviewed after voting at the library, 26 said they voted for Obama. The most commonly cited issue that decided whom the voters supported was women’s rights, followed by healthcare, the economy and gay marriage. While four of the five voters who cited women’s issues as a key priority voted for Obama, Eduardo Andino ’13 said the Republican ticket aligned better with his views. Though he acknowledged his vote might not change the election’s outcome in Connecticut, Andino said it was important to voice his opinion. Some of the students took to the polls more out of fear for a Republican victory than out of support for Obama’s policies. Tess McNulty ’13, an Obama supporter, said she cast her vote for Obama so that Romney could not “deconstruct the progress that we’ve made,” particularly on the issue of healthcare. Several Yale students entered the voting booth for the first time yesterday. Ruth Nakaar ’14, a first-time voter, said many peo-
GRAPH YOUTH VOTE (18-29): DEMOCRATS VS. REPUBLICANS 60 50 Vote for Democrats
Percentage 40 of youth vote
Vote for Republicans
30 20 10
1996
ple wrongly blamed the president for not accomplishing enough with his first term when Republicans often blocked him in Congress. “Obama has not been given a fair chance these four years,” Nakaar said. “I would hate for him to become a one-term president.” Michael Zhao ’15, also a firsttime voter, aligned with the president, even though change had not been as sweeping as Obama promised in 2008. While her father supports
2000
Romney, Rosa Nguyen ’15 voted for Obama, hoping high turnout among the Democratic-leaning youth voters would give Obama four more years in office. Three of the 30 students interviewed voted for the Republican ticket. Ona McConnell ’14 said she supported Obama in 2008, but she was disappointed with his leadership and voted for Romney yesterday. McConnell said she believed Romney had positioned himself as more conser-
Student campaigners track results
2004 vative during the campaign, but she said she believed he would be more liberal as president, as he had been when he passed healthcare legislation as Massachusetts governor. “I think at the end of the day, if he were to become president, he would not stand by [conservative] values as much as he does now,” she said. “I hope Mitt is lying about some of his opinions.” One of the students turned to a third-party candidate. Andy Ellis ’15, who said the
Yale students watched the election results from locations across the country where they were working on campaigns. BY APSARA IYER, TIANYI PAN CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS Though Election Night brought students together in dorm rooms and dining halls, a small group of Yale students followed the results from offices across America and presidential campaign headquarters. At least seven students left Yale this fall semester to volunteer on presidential and congressional campaigns, following in the footsteps of those in the past who worked for Obama and other campaigns in 2008. Students who volunteered for campaigns in 2012 and 2008 stressed the significance of Election Night, having followed the race for months as staffers. Yale students working for the Obama campaign watched from various headquarter sites as voting results came in throughout the night. As Obama’s victory was called, they said they felt exhilarated after returning to the campaign office. “It’s unbelievable … I don’t think I’ve really been part of something so big, and I’ve put so much blood and tears into it. It’s been so long a road, and I worked with these people for so long, and for so many hours,” said Cody Pomeranz ’15, who worked as a 2012 summer intern at the Obama communications office in Pennsylvania, from a victory party at the campaign’s Pennsylvania office. “Just to be at the victory party and see the screen call for the president is so rewarding — it’s a big pay off.” JD Sagastume ’14, who spent this past semester coordinating canvassing efforts for Obama in Michigan and later from campaign headquarters in Chicago,
THE ELECTION 11/6/12–1/20/13
said he felt “very happy and exhilarated” when Michigan was called for Obama Tuesday night. “Though it wasn’t really a surprise, it was still very vindicating to know that I helped with that,” Sagastume said. Although he said he was not surprised by the outcome of Tuesday’s presidential race, Zac Krislov ’15 said working for the Obama campaign was a “a tremendous experience” that allowed him to meet people from many different backgrounds. Students who worked on the 2008 campaigns shared a feeling of regret at being less involved during this election cycle.
It’s unbelievable … I’ve put so much blood and tears into it. CODY POMERANZ ’15 Intern, Pennsylvania Obama communications office Tom Dec ’13, who worked for Congressman Jim Himes, who represents Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District, celebrated his victory early Tuesday night, after Himes’ victory was celebrated unofficially by campaign workers. “We just got our results back and are going to the victory party now,” Dec said at around 9 p.m. Tuesday. “It’s a fantastic experience.” While attending Himes’s victory party, the outcome of the presidential race was called, declaring victory for President Obama. Dec said Obama’s re-election sent a “strong message” from the public that Obama’s vision of the country was one they supported and one they wanted
NOV. 6, 2012 Romney casts his vote in Boston, Mass.
to see in the next four years. Students who worked for the 2008 and 2012 campaigns in specific states said they felt personally invested in the election results of those states. “It was definitely nice when the race was called for Obama [in 2008], but the prize was when North Carolina’s votes were finally tabulated and called for Obama a few days later. When I heard he won by 6000 votes, I broke down crying,” said Joe Charlet ’12, who worked for Obama’s 2008 campaign. Audrey Huntington ’12, who took a semester off from Yale in 2008 because she was “really concerned about the [election’s] outcome,” said she considered quitting her current job to volunteer for Obama’s 2012 campaign. Though her faith in an Obama victory stopped her from doing so, Huntington still expressed frustration at not being as involved this year as she was in the 2008 election. Though she donated money to Obama’s 2012 campaign, she found it “incredibly frustrating” that she could not participate more directly. “I’ve been involved a tiny bit in this election, canvassing on a weekend or two, but it’s not a fraction of what I did in ’08. It’s been frustrating just watching it unfold and not having a part in it,” Huntington said. Yale students involved in campaigns for the 2012 presidential race worked in Michigan, Virginia, Illinois, New York and Connecticut. Contact APSARA IYER at apsara.iyer@yale.edu. Contact TIANYI PAN at tianyi.pan@yale.edu .
NOV. 6, 2012 Obama is declared the presumptive president-elect around midnight.
DEC. 17, 2012 The Electoral College formally elects a president and vice president.
most important issue he considered when voting was whether he would have a job when he graduated, voted for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson on Tuesday to voice his dissatisfaction with both candidates and the twoparty system. Johnson received 22 votes in Ward 1. Voter turnout in Ward 1 this year nearly doubled compared to the 2010 midterm election. Contact CHRISTOPHER PEAK at christopher.peak@yale.edu .
Despite Sandy, Yalies vote BY DAN WEINER STAFF REPORTER
CHARLES ARBOGAST/ASSOCIATED PRESS
2008
Though last week’s hurricane complicated voting for many in the Northeast Tuesday, most Yale students surveyed from the affected states said the conditions did not impact their ability to vote. New York and New Jersey took drastic measures to facilitate voting. Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York temporarily suspended portions of the state’s election law to allow those displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote in any precinct they could reach. In New Jersey, the state’s chief election official Kim Guadagno said anyone affected by the storm could vote at their most accessible site. On Tuesday, only two of Connecticut’s 773 polling locations were without power — a significant decrease from the 100 locations left in the dark last Wednesday after Sandy knocked out power across the state. “Once again I am very proud of the hard work and dedication of our local election administrators in Connecticut, who for the second year in a row dealt with a major weather disaster just a week prior to Election Day and came together to make sure all of us could cast ballots,” Connecticut Secretary State Denise Merrill said in a press release Monday. Nine of 10 Yale students from New York City interviewed Tuesday evening said the storm did not impact their ability to vote. Many reported that they had already registered in Connecticut and were able to vote with relatively little trouble around New Haven throughout Tuesday. Julian Drucker ’16, from the Upper West Side New York City, said in an email that he does not personally know anybody from
JAN. 6, 2013 Electoral votes are formally counted before a joint session of Congress. The President of the Senate formally announces the electoral result.
home whose voting ability was affected by the storm. But Juliet deButts ’14, who lives near Drucker and is registered to vote in New York City, said in an email that Hurricane Sandy prevented her from voting today. Though she submitted an application for an absentee ballot, deButts said the hurricane must have delayed the mail because she never received her ballot.
Our local election administrators in Connecticut, for the second year in a row, dealt with a major weather disaster just a week prior to Election Day. DENISE MERRILL Secretary of State, Connecticut New Jersey took the extra step of allowing displaced voters to submit their ballots by email or fax. The state classified these displaced individuals as overseas residents, allowing them to submit an electronic ballot application to receive a ballot via fax or email. On Tuesday, election officials in New Jersey extended the voting deadline, giving these displaced voters until Friday to submit their ballots by fax or email. As of early Wednesday morning, President Obama was expected to win in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut by large margins. Contact DAN WEINER at daniel.weiner@yale.edu .
JAN. 20, 2013 Obama is inaugurated as president.
PAGE B10
YALE DAILY NEWS · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2012 · yaledailynews.com
THE RESULTS BREAKING DOWN THE RED AND BLUE
PENNSYLVANIA 21 Electoral Votes
INDIANA
11 Electoral Votes The state’s electoral votes went to Republicans in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Obama reversed this trend in 2008, but Romney recaptured Indiana with 54 percent of the vote in 2012.
Another classic swing state, Pennsylvania’s electoral votes went to Obama after he won 56 percent of the vote in 2008. Obama won the state again in 2012, this time with 51 percent.
OHIO
20 Electoral Votes No Republican presidential nominee has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, and this year was no exception. When Ohio’s electoral votes could be reliably counted towards the Democratic candidates, major news outlets declared an Obama victory.
NORTH CAROLINA 15 Electoral Votes
North Carolina had reliably voted Republican for years, but intensive Obama campaign and voter-registration drives turned the state blue in 2008. Romney recaptured the state’s 15 electoral votes in 2012.
FLORIDA
27 Electoral Votes A perennial battleground state that President Bush won by 5 points in 2004, Florida — with 27 electoral votes — went to Obama in 2008 and is expected to again, as of publication.
ELECTORAL VOTE BREAKDOWN OBAMA TOTAL 303 California 55 Colorado 9 Connecticut 7 Delaware 3 Hawaii 4 Illinois 20 Iowa 6 Maine 4 Maryland 10 Massachusetts 11 Michigan 16 Minnesota 10 New Hampshire 4
173 (+1)
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
New Jersey 14 New Mexico 5 New York 29 Nevada 6 Ohio 18 Oregon 7 Pennsylvania 20 Rhode Island 4 Vermont 3 Virginia 13 Washington, D.C. 3 Washington 12 Wisconsin 10
ROMNEY TOTAL 206 Alabama 9 Alaska 3 Arizona 11 Arkansas 6 Georgia 16 Idaho 4 Indiana 11 Kansas 6 Kentucky 8 Louisiana 8 Mississippi 6 Missouri 10
CONGRESSIONAL BREAKDOWN
Montana 3 Nebraska 5 North Carolina 15 North Dakota 3 Oklahoma 7 South Carolina 9 South Dakota 3 Tennessee 11 Texas 38 Utah 6 West Virginia 5 Wyoming 3
Florida 29, too close to call as of press time.
TOO CLOSE TO CALL DEMOCRAT REPUBLICAN INDEPENDENT
1 52 (+1) *
36 226
NEW YORK TIMES
SENATE
3 44 (-2)
* Democratic total includes Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats. Data accurate as of press time.