Obama wins Florida ......... finally.

[Mr. Laz]

FL Election Results 2012: Barack Obama Defeats Mitt Romney
By TAMARA LUSH 11/10/12 01:34 PM ET U.S. President Barack Obama addresses a crowd of supporters on stage on election night November 6, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — President Barack Obama was declared the winner of Florida's 29 electoral votes Saturday, ending a four-day count with a razor-thin margin that narrowly avoided an automatic recount that would have brought back memories of 2000.
No matter the outcome, Obama had already clinched re-election and now has 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
The Florida Secretary of State's Office said that with almost 100 percent of the vote counted, Obama led Republican challenger Mitt Romney 50 percent to 49.1 percent, a difference of about 74,000 votes. That was over the half-percent margin where a computer recount would have been automatically ordered unless Romney had waived it.
There is a Nov. 16 deadline for overseas and military ballots, but under Florida law, recounts are based on Saturday's results. Only a handful of overseas and military ballots are believed to remain outstanding.
It's normal for election supervisors in Florida and other states to spend days after any election counting absentee, provisional, military and overseas ballots. Usually, though, the election has already been called on election night or soon after because the winner's margin is beyond reach.
"Florida has spoken loudly in support of moving our nation forward," Ashley Walker, the Obama campaign's director for Florida, said in a news release. She added that the win was a testament to the campaign's volunteers and staff.
When reached by phone Saturday, Mitt Romney's communications director Gail Gitcho said the campaign had no comment.
Obama's win came in part from heavy support from black, Hispanic and younger voters. Exit polls conducted for The Associated Press showed Obama was favored by more than 9 of 10 black voters and 3 of 5 Hispanic voters in Florida. The president also was the choice of two-thirds of voters under age 30.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney led among both white and older voters.

In the end, the facts of who voted for which candidate in Florida faded into memory as voting issues emerged election night.
On election night this year, it was difficult for officials – and the media – to call the presidential race here, in part because the margin was so close and the voting stretched into the evening.
In Miami-Dade, for instance, so many people were in line at 7 p.m. in certain precincts that some people didn't vote until after midnight.
The hours-long wait at the polls in some areas, a lengthy ballot and the fact that Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend early voting hours has led some to criticize Florida's voting process. Some officials have vowed to investigate why there were problems at the polls and how that led to a lengthy vote count.
If there had been a recount, it would not be as difficult as the lengthy one in 2000. The state no longer uses punch-card ballots, which became known for their hanging chads. All 67 counties now use optical scan ballots where voters mark their selections manually.
Republican George W. Bush won the 2000 contest after the Supreme Court declared him the winner over Democrat Al Gore by a scant 537 votes.
The win gave Obama victories in eight of the nine swing states, losing only North Carolina. In addition to Florida, he won Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada.
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[alnorth]

You guys will have to just believe me, or not, because I didn't post it, but I called 332 electoral votes for Obama. I felt good about 303, but just wasn't sure about Florida, and finally settled on thinking Obama would win that, too.

[greg63]

No Way!

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by alnorth

You guys will have to just believe me, or not, because I didn't post it, but I called 332 electoral votes for Obama. I felt good about 303, but just wasn't sure about Florida, and finally settled on thinking Obama would win that, too.

You. Me. Vegas. Boom.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Bowser

You. Me. Vegas. Boom.

It gets better. I actually, for real and not joking, called every F'ing senate race. WI, VA, MT, and ND were all tough, but I decided it would be a total wipeout and called them all blue.

First time I had ever called the senate, presuming Arizona stays red.

[Direckshun]

How'd you call the house, while we're at it.

[Brock]

this means he's king for life, right? I'm so worried!

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

How'd you call the house, while we're at it.

D+10.

Gonna miss that one by a couple seats, looks like.

[alnorth]

For a lot of people, this election was either mildly or greatly shocking. For me, it was so spooky how everything was falling into place that I bought a powerball ticket the day after the election. (I didn't win)

[Direckshun]

You gotta stick around another four years, al. We're gonna need your prowess in 2016.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by alnorth

You guys will have to just believe me, or not, because I didn't post it, but I called 332 electoral votes for Obama. I felt good about 303, but just wasn't sure about Florida, and finally settled on thinking Obama would win that, too.

Before or after looking at 538?

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Before or after looking at 538?

Yeah, you got me. After.

My house pick was also assisted by one of the other nerdy modelers who gave a range of house possibilities, and I picked on the high end on that.

Though, that wasn't a lot of help for the senate, 538 stubbornly thought that MT was a tossup and that the GOP led ND due to thin polling. The pollsters just presumed those wouldnt be competitive and didnt poll them as often as they should, and I went with my gut on those two.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

You gotta stick around another four years, al. We're gonna need your prowess in 2016.

2016 should be easy for your side. The senate lines up nicely and even more millennials will be eligible to vote. I also give it even money that the GOP will idiotically decide they werent conservative enough, toss out Christie, and double down on stupid.

If I were you, I'd be praying on 2014. Dem turnout falls on off-year elections, and that one is going to be a really rough year where the Dems have to defend in a lot of red states.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by alnorth

2016 should be easy for your side. The senate lines up nicely and even more millennials will be eligible to vote. I also give it even money that the GOP will idiotically decide they werent conservative enough, toss out Christie, and double down on stupid.

If I were you, I'd be praying on 2014. Dem turnout falls on off-year elections, and that one is going to be a really rough year where the Dems have to defend in a lot of red states.

I think unemployment's going to drop like a rock that year.

Edit: So long as we're projecting, I think that's the story the Democrats campaign on. In addition to that, Obamacare will be officially implemented that year. While it will be too early for any projections about how it's turning out (I think it will ultimately be fine), there will no doubt be some anecdotal evidence of somebody having a tragically hard time with it in some way that will be Drudge-headlined and Fox-promoted. So I think the GOP will try to shift focus from a sturdy recovery by highlighting these stories and making that their story.

[BucEyedPea]

Wow, what a big margin. Too bad, Obama lied about his Medicare cuts to seniors and said Romney would do that. Even journalist Bob Woodward, said it was “bad politics” to say so.