It was a long fought campaign that caught national attention for weeks, but at 11:17 p.m on Tuesday, Nov. 6, President Barack Obama has been projected to have won re-election as President of the United States.
CNN projected Obama to win the Electoral College vote at 274 votes at 11:17 p.m. Tuesday after declaring Obama the winner in critical swing state Ohio.
CNN projected Obama the Electoral College winner, 274 to 201, beating GOP challenger Mitt Romney by a 73-point total.
Cheers erupted in Chicago, Illinois on Tuesday night after the projections came in after 10 p.m. Obama picked up several key victories in swing states Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New Hampshire, and after receiving a slew of 73 votes from the West Coast states of California, Oregon and Washington, the president's road to 270 became much shorter.
Romney won in swing state North Carolina, and Midwest states such as Idaho, Montana and Utah, but the loss of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were devastating blows to Romney's election bid.
Around 11:17 p.m., President Obama sent the following tweet to his supporters on Twitter: "We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you. -bo."
An aide for the Romney campaign told CNN at 11:40 p.m. Tuesday evening that Romney was not ready to concede the election at that time.