'The best is yet to come': President Obama re-elected, wins Minnesota, Wisconsin
President Barack Obama has won a second term as president of the United States. Minnesota and Wisconsin were among the states he won. In his speech well after midnight, Obama thanked Vice President Joe Biden, his family, and what he called the greatest campaign team and volunteers "in the history of politics."
The president said he was more determined and inspired than ever, and that he had never been more hopeful about the future. He said politics in a nation of 300 million people was a messy business, and he said that there would continue to be disagreements. Progress is not always a smooth path, he said. "But that is where we need to go – forward," Obama said.
Reuters reports that Republican Mitt Romney called President Obama to congratulate him on the presidential race. During his concession speech in Boston he said, "This is a time of great challenge for our nation. I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation."
Here's the Washington Post's Electoral College map that showed 303 votes collected by Obama by the end of the night.
During most of the campaign, Minnesota was largely ignored by both Romney and Obama, as both camps assumed it was a reliable Obama state. But both camps turned their attention to Minnesota as polls suggested the race tightening in the final week before Election Day.
Both candidates ran TV ads and sent top surrogates. Vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan drew thousands at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Former President Bill Clinton stumped in St. Cloud.
Watch Obama's full acceptance speech here:
Also, see Romney concede:
