Here’s a bit of political trivia from a proud history major:
The first April of a second presidential term has proven to be a tipping point in the popularity of re-elected presidents.
For George W. Bush and Richard M. Nixon, it was all downhill from there. For Bill Clinton (despite impeachment) and Ronald Reagan (despite the Iran-Contra scandal), it was a pathway to historically high job approval ratings.
The new CNN/ORC poll released today placed Obama at 51 percent, very close to the April approval ratings of each of the four other second-term presidents.
Even as the fiscal cliff negotiations drag on, the public has decided who is the “good guy” and who is … well, not.
Just 25 percent of all voters and a surprisingly small 38 percent of Republicans approve of House Speaker John Boehner’s performance in the talks to resolve the budget stalemate that is gripping Washington, according to today’s ABC News/Washington Post poll.
Boehner is losing two battles — among party loyalists and among swing voters.
“Independents, for their part, split evenly on Obama’s efforts, versus a nearly 2-1 negative rating on Boehner’s, 25-46 percent approve-disapprove,” reported ABC News polling analyst Gary Langer. “Among political moderates majorities approve of Obama’s performance (53-36 percent) and disapprove of Boehner’s (22-54 percent).”
If Boehner is looking for help from the GOP core, it’s not forthcoming. While four in five Democrats and liberals are sticking with Obama, fewer than 40 percent of Republicans and conservatives are in Boehner’s corner. Indeed, the only thing that conservative Republicans agree on is that they disagree with Obama.
Obama has a deeper well spring of support because of his personal popularity. Boehner’s national approval ratings at 25 percent; Obama is at 49 percent (with 42 percent disapproval).
Additionally, there seems to be a consensus among Democrats that Obama’s victory provides him with a mandate on the fiscal cliff, even though in 2008 the president himself said that “a 51–48 victory” should be seen “as a call to humility and compromise rather than an irrefutable mandate.” Obama was re-elected with a 51 to 47 percent victory.
Polls consistently have shown that the House Speaker is also more likely to get blamed if the negotiations fail, reported CNN/ORC in November.
A majority of Americans support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants as well as a more lenient view on same-sex marriage and marijuana laws, results from a nationwide post election poll show.
According to the ABC News/Washington Post poll of 1,023 adults, 57 percent of Americans adults support a path to freedom for illegal immigrants currently working in the U.S. and 39 percent oppose it, well outside the 3.5 percent margin of error.
A majority of support came from the western and southern parts of the country with 64 and 56 percent support, respectively. A majority of self-described liberals and moderates expressed support for immigration reform as did 47 percent of self-described conservatives.
Latinos polled in the survey expressed the most favorability toward a path to citizenship with 82 percent supporting and 17 percent opposing. Hispanic voter turnout reached an all-time high of 10 percent this past election, with President Barack Obama winning more than 70 percent of the Latino vote.
In the wake of the large racial gap between Democrats and Republicans in the election, some GOP politicians and conservative pundits have called for more Latino outreach and reconsideration of immigration reform.
The poll also showed a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, but by a significantly smaller margin than immigration reform. Fifty-one percent of respondents said they support same-sex marriage compared to 47 percent who oppose, putting it squarely within the margin of error.
This past election three states — Maine, Maryland and Oregon — legalized same-sex marriage through ballot measures and joined six other states and the District of Columbia as the only bodies recognizing marriages between two men or two women.
Minnesota voted down a ballot measure making same-sex marriage unconstitutional last week, however, a majority of states have such bans.
The poll showed 59 percent of respondents in the Northeast supported same-sex marriage, compared to 37 percent opposing. In the West 54 percent supported, with 43 percent in opposition.
According to the poll the Midwest supported same-sex marriage by the slimmest of margins — 50 percent to 49 percent. The South showed solid opposition, with 52 percent against and 45 percent for same-sex marriage.
Though support was down 2 percent since the last ABC News/Washington Post sponsored poll on May 20, overall, support for same-sex marriage has been on the rise since 2003 when it polled at 37 percent support.
Another major ballot movement, the legalization of marijuana, also was examined in the poll, revealing 48 percent support the measure and 50 percent oppose legalizing “small amounts of marijuana for personal use.”
Colorado and Washington both passed measures to legalize the drug for personal use. A similar measure in Oregon was voted down.
Legalized marijuana received more support from men than women, 52 percent against 45 percent, and more support from adults 18-29 compared to those 65 and older, 55 percent against 30 percent.
Like same-sex marriage, legalization of marijuana also has been on the rise, starting out at 39 percent in 2002.
Even as the first returns started rolling in, it was a tight presidential race to call. And with an election this close, polling projections for the national popular vote were tightly grouped, varying by five percentage points or less.
In the end, President Barack Obama won the popular vote with 50.4 percent to Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s 48. 1 percent as of 4 p.m. Wednesday. Less than 3 million votes made the difference.
IBD/TIPP, ABC News/Washington Post, Pew Research and National Journal all projected Obama’s popular vote within 1 percent. Each is ranked next based on how accurately it placed Romney.
Most polls underestimated Obama’s victory. FOX News was the worst with a -4.4 difference, although it also underestimated Romney’s strength.
Nate Silver, who accurately predicted 49 of 50 states in 2008, had them all running in circles. This year his mathematical models based on a conglomerate of polls won him a perfect score despite ongoing criticisms of his methodology.
Here’s a breakdown of which polls were dead on and which ones were duds:
The voting is over. The finger-pointing has begun.
After covering every presidential election since 1980, I find such exercises rarely useful, if sometimes cathartic.
Rather than casting blame, let’s do something productive. Here are six take-aways I gleaned from the 2012 election results:
1. There truly is a demographic tidal wave sweeping over the nation, and Republicans ignore it at their own peril.
The percentage of the electorate made up of non-Hispanic Caucasians (“white voters”) has dropped from 91 percent to 72 percent since the Seventies. Election strategies must keep up with the times.
As we all know, the Latino population is the fast-growing bloc in the United States, and Hispanics favored President Obama by more than 40 percentage points over Republican Mitt Romney. The Latino vote tipped the balance of power in Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, and played gave the Democratic incumbent a cushion in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Iowa. If Republicans don’t make inroads — and fast — Arizona, Tennessee and then Texas will become competitive at the presidential level.
Other demographic warning signs for the GOP:
– Asian Americans favored Obama by 3-to-1. As recently as 2000, they were a Republican-leaning swing voter bloc.
– The percentage of the electorate that identified as white evangelical Protestant (a strong GOP bloc) is declining. In Virginia, their smaller share of the electorate accounted for Romney’s margin of defeat. Romney won 78 percent of the white fundamentalist vote and still couldn’t claim a majority in Virginia or Florida (and just barely in North Carolina).
– The urban/rural split. Obama carried urban America by about the same percentage that Romney won in rural areas. Urban areas are growing. Rural areas are shrinking. Bad for Republicans.
– The generation gap. Younger voters are the most Democratic age group. The oldest voters are the most Republican. Today’s young voters will be picking presidents for decades after today’s seniors have died. Republicans must manage to persuade more under-30 voters to abandon the Democratic Party.
– The gender gap. Obama’s support among women was almost the same from 2008 to 2012, while male voters shifted toward the GOP by double digits. Republicans must figure out ways to improve their appeal to mothers, working women and highly educated women. They can’t stand pat as the party of old white men.
2. The polls were right.
This is a big deal.
First, there is no liberal polling conspiracy, despite what you may have heard on talk radio. (It’s a ridiculous notion, anyway, because Fox News’ own polling was in line with the supposedly biased polls.)
The most important point is that almost every major pollster pinpointed the presidential results within the margin of error — despite the difficulty of getting a representative sample of American voters in this era of mobile communications and reduced landline usage.
What’s more, almost every polling organization effectively created a “likely voter” screen, which predicted the voting outcome (vs. the feelings of non-voters, most of whom would have voted for Obama).
3. There is a myth of the undecided voter.
You saw way too many stories on television about undecided voters. During every debate, we had televised focused groups of undecided voters.
Well, that whole thing is a myth.
There is no such thing as an “undecided voter.”
People call themselves “undecided” as a snapshot in time along their journey toward a candidate. After the Democratic convention, for example, undecided voters tended to be people who were disappointed in President Obama but unconvinced by Mitt Romney. After the first debate, many of them became Romney supporters — and undecided voters were former Obama supporters who were spooked by the first debate performance. Many of them ended up as Obama voters.
What we really should be analyzing are “persuadable voters.” This is the 10 to 15 percent of the electorate that is not locked in to supporting one party or the other. But let’s drop this “undecided” charade.
4. Independent voters are no longer the key “swing” group.
Let’s face it: Most of the time, most people who call themselves Independents end up voting Republican. (2008 was an exception that proves the rule.)
Mitt Romney won a narrow majority among Independents. He also lost a number of swing states where he carried the Independent vote.
At this point in our political history, we need to develop a “shopping cart” of swing blocs. We should look at moderates, which tend to lean Democratic (56 percent for Obama in 2012).
For a Democrat to win the presidency in this decade, they’ll probably need to win 55 percent of moderates.
For a Republican to win the presidency in the foreseeable future, they’ll probably need to win 55 percent of Independents.
Let’s stop pretending that a simple majority of Independents means anything.
5. Suburbs can’t be analyzed as a single unit.
Mitt Romney carried America’s suburbs, 51 percent to 47 percent.
So what?
It doesn’t tell us anything about who will win key swing states.
The reason: Suburban voters act very differently based on the region of the nation.
In the Mid-Atlantic and West Coast states, suburban voters leaned heavily Democratic. They helped bury Romney in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and Virginia (Washington, D.C.). Other suburban Democratic bastions: San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.
In the South, suburbanites tend to be heavily Republican. Think Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Atlanta, Charlotte and South Carolina.
In western swing states, they tend to be swing voters. Look at Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
Bottom line: Any analysis of suburban voters must take into account the region you’re studying.
6. We have to rethink the way we contemplate the role of money in politics.
Campaign spending in 2012 is expected to top $6 billion. For what? A status-quo election.
The biggest success story of the year may have been Karl Rove’s ability to separate conservative billionaires from many millions of their dollars.
All the money that washed through the U.S. political system — including hundreds of millions of dollars in secret, undisclosed donations — had very little effect on the final results.
A more effective way of influencing the election would have been the old-fashioned method: paying voters cash for their votes.
You have to give a special thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, which opened the floodgates with its 2010 Citizens United decision that equated unlimited political money with free speech. SCOTUS has become the second-most important federal institution — next to the Federal Reserve — in aiding our nation’s economic recovery. After all, the justices helped bail out the economies of Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, California and many, many other recession-ravaged states.
A demographic tidal wave helped President Barack Obama win a tight but decisive re-election victory Tuesday with record-breaking support from Hispanic voters, massive turnout from African-Americans and continuing enthusiasm from young Americans.
Although Republican nominee Mitt Romney won a larger share of the white vote than any presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan scored a landslide re-election in 1984, the former Massachusetts governor ended up a loser at the polls because of the racial, ethnic and generational changes that have altered the U.S. electoral landscape.
“We are an American family and we rise and fall together as one nation and one people,” Obama said in a victory speech that sought common ground with the Republican he defeated and unity for a deeply divided nation. “These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty.”
With more than 85 percent of the votes counted nationwide early Wednesday morning, Obama led Romney by 50 percent to 49 percent in the popular vote. But Obama already had won enough states to clinch the 270 electoral votes needed to secure re-election.
In a gracious concession speech delivered, a subdued Romney called on disappointed Republicans to “earnestly pray” for Obama to succeed.
“This is a time of great challenge for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation,” the GOP nominee told a quiet crowd in Boston.
Obama’s challenges include tackling a stubbornly high unemployment rate, a slow-growth recovery, record-breaking federal deficits and a burgeoning national debt. He also will preside over implementation of the controversial health-reform law approved by Congress in 2010 and due to take effect fully in 2014.
“While our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come,” Obama told supporters in his hometown of Chicago.
To succeed, Obama will need to break through partisan polarization that was reflected Tuesday at the polls. The president received the support of 92 percent of Democrats and 86 percent of liberals, while Romney was backed by 94 percent of Republicans and 83 percent of conservatives.
Romney ran up large majorities in heavily Republican states, but the GOP nominee couldn’t dent Obama’s Midwestern firewall and fell short in other targeted states across the nation, including Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Hampshire.
Obama’s electoral vote landslide is a reflection of the changing face of America. The portion of nonwhite voters in the electorate has tripled over the last four decades to 28 percent on Tuesday. The Democratic incumbent led among African Americans by 93 percent to 7 percent – the best performance by a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Heavy African American turnout in Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Richmond and Miami changed the dynamic in five battleground states. In key swing states, Romney received just 1 percent of the African American vote in Florida and 3 percent in Ohio and Virginia.
Meanwhile, Latino voters, energized by tough Republican rhetoric on immigration, voted Democratic by 69 percent to 30 percent, tipping the balance of power in a string of states including Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado.
“Gov. Romney’s shift to the right on the issue of immigration during the GOP primary season made it impossible for him to equal the number of Latino votes that George W. Bush received in 2000 and 2004,” said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan. “Efforts by numerous states to curtail early voting and require photo identification seem to have motivated these groups to record turnout numbers.”
In addition to minority voters, Obama’s majority-making coalition included young voters, highly educated citizens and women.
For the first time in American history, Latinos made up 10 percent of the electorate, up from 9 percent in 2008. The overwhelming Hispanic support – and strong turnout — helped Obama win New Mexico and Iowa, and kept the race close in states such as Florida, Colorado and Virginia.
In contrast to Obama’s rainbow coalition, Romney’s core supporters were older, evangelical and white. Among white voters, the Republican nominee topped Obama by 20 points, 59 percent to 39 percent. Romney scored particularly well among older white men, white women who have not completed college and rural white males.
“We’re seeing a Republican party whose support base continues to shrink,” said Mark P. Jones, chairman of political science department at Rice University. “The GOP is going to have to address that support over the next few years, particularly as they approach the next presidential election.”
Considering the deep divisions in the electorate, 2012 could easily be called “the year of the gap.”
There was the gender gap. Women favored Obama, 55 percent to 44 percent, while men chose Romney by 52 percent to 45 percent. Mothers were more likely to support Obama (56 percent to 43 percent), while fathers sided with Romney (53 percent to 45 percent).
“Democrats effectively made the case that issues important to women, not just issues like abortion and reproductive rights but economic issues of equal pay and access to jobs, those issues resonated with women,” said Ron Schurin, a political scientist at the University of Connecticut. “The Romney campaign seemed at times to be tone deaf on those issues. They tried to make a case, they just didn’t do it effectively.”
In addition to the gender gap, there was a yawning generation gap. Voters under the age of 30 were strongly pro-Obama, 59 percent to 37 percent, while voters 65 and older favored Romney by 57 percent to 43 percent.
Angry Republican conservatives say they the only way to rebuild a majority is to purge the party of its old-fashioned pragmatists like Romney.
“Tomorrow morning we launch the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party between small government constitutionalists and Tea Party types, and those like George Bush and Karl Rove who want to expand government,” veteran conservative activist Richard A. Viguerie, chairman of ConservativeHQ.com.
Summer Ballentine of the Hearst Washington bureau contributed to this report.
According to the Detroit News, Ty Houston helped revive a man who suffered a medical condition while filling out his absentee ballot on Monday afternoon with his wife.
The elderly man, who was not identified, was not breathing and had no heartbeat, but Houston, a registered nurse, performed CPR on the man until he regained consciousness, according to the newspaper.
Once he was revived, the man asked a simple question.
“The first question he asked was ‘Did I vote?’” Houston told the newspaper.
The man, who had a tracheotomy in his throat, took a few more breathes and told his wife that there are only two things that are important to him: “That I love you and that I finished what I came here to do…vote.”
The man was expected to recover.
Houston told CBS that the man’s words should serve as a reminder to fellow Americans that pass on their right to vote.
The polls are still open in many states and the votes are not yet counted, but some exit poll are in. Here’s a sampling:
NATIONAL :
Amy Brighton from Medina, Ohio, who opposes health care reform, rallies in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 27, 2012, as the court continues arguments on the health care law signed by President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
By gender:
Men:
Romney: 53 percent
Obama: 45 percent
Women:
Romney: 44 percent
Obama: 54 percent
Romney voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 37 percent
30 to 44: 46 percent
45 to 64: 52 percent
65 and older: 56 percent
Obama voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 59 percent
30 to 44: 51 percent
45 to 64: 47 percent
65 and older: 43 percent
Votes by ideology:
Liberal (24 percent of voters):
Obama: 86 percent
Romney: 11 percent
Moderate (40 percent):
Obama: 56 percent
Romney: 42 percent
Conservative (35 percent):
Obama: 16 percent
Romney: 82 percent
By Party:
Democrats (37 percent):
Obama: 92 percent
Romney: 7 percent
Republicans (33 percent):
Obama: 93 percent
Romney: 6 percent
Independent (30 percent):
Obama: 45 percent
Romney: 50 percent
Votes by Religion:
Protestant (53 percent of voters):
Obama: 42 percent
Romney: 57 percent
Catholic (25 percent):
Obama: 49 percent
Romney: 48 percent
Other (7 percent):
Obama: 72 percent
Romney: 25 percent
No religious affiliation (12 percent):
Obama: 70 percent
Romney: 26 percent
By Race:
White:
Obama: 39 percent
Romney: 59 percent
African-American:
Obama: 93 percent
Romney: 7 percent
Latino:
Obama: 69 percent
Romney: 30 percent
Asian:
Obama: 74 percent
Romney: 25 percent
The most important issue in this election:
economy: 60 percent
health care: 17 percent
the deficit: 15 percent
The economy is doing:
better: 39 percent
worse: 31 percent
same: 28 percent
Are you better off?
better off: 24 percent
worse off: 34 percent
the same: 40 percent
Romney favors:
the rich (52 percent)
the middle class (36 percent)
the poor (2 percent)
Obama favors:
the rich (10 percent)
the middle class (43 percent)
the poor (31 percent)
The most important quality in the candidate is:
a vision for future: 29 percent
share my values: 28 percent
cares about people: 20 percent
strong leader:19 percent
Who is more in touch with people like you?
Obama: 52 percent
Romney: 44 percent
Who would better handle the economy?
Obama: 47 percent
Romney: 51 percent
A person holds a sign along S. Independence Boulevard on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, in Virginia Beach, Va., as people wait in line for tickets to see the president Friday at Green Run High School. (AP Photo/Bill Tiernan)
VIRGINIA:
Romney: 59 percent
Obama: 40 percent
By gender:
Men:
Romney: 52 percent
Obama: 45 percent
Women:
Romney: 47 percent
Obama: 52 percent
Romney voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 39 percent
30 to 44: 49 percent
45 to 64: 49 percent
65 and older: 59 percent
Obama voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 59 percent
30 to 44: 46 percent
45 to 64: 50 percent
65 and older: 40 percent
Votes by ideology:
Liberal (23 percent of voters):
Obama: 90 percent
Romney: 6 percent
Moderate (45 percent):
Obama: 55 percent
Romney: 44 percent
Conservative (32 percent):
Obama: 12 percent
Romney: 86 percent
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Votes by Religion:
Protestant (63 percent of voters):
Obama: 48 percent
Romney: 51 percent
Catholic (15 percent):
Obama: 42 percent
Romney: 56 percent
Other (11 percent):
Obama: 77 percent
Romney: 23 percent
Romney: 59 percent
Obama: 40 percent
By Race:
White:
Obama: 34 percent
Romney: 63 percent
African-American:
Obama: 94 percent
Romney: 5 percent
Latino:
Obama: 53 percent
Romney: 44 percent
Asian:
Obama: 63 percent
Romney: 36 percent
Supporters hold up an Ohio sign as President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at The Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center at Kent State University Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, in Kent, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
OHIO:
The economy is doing:
better: 37 percent
worse: 33 percent
same: 29 percent
How do you feel about Obama’s administration:
dissatisfied: 27 percent
angry: 23 percent
enthusiastic: 24 percent
satisfied: 24 percent
By gender:
Men:
Romney: 52 percent
Obama: 45 percent
Women:
Romney: 43 percent
Obama: 55 percent
Romney voter break down by age:
18 to 24: 34 percent
24 to 29: 34 percent
30 to 39: 41 percent
40 to 49: 52 percent
50 to 64: 50 percent
65 and older: 55 percent
Obama voter break down by age:
18 to 24: 63 percent
24 to 29: 64 percent
30 to 39: 56 percent
40 to 49: 46 percent
50 to 64: 49 percent
65 and older: 44 percent
Votes by ideology:
Liberal (22 percent of voters):
Obama: 89 percent
Romney: 9 percent
Moderate (42 percent):
Obama: 58 percent
Romney: 40 percent
Conservative (35 percent):
Obama: 18 percent
Romney: 81 percent
Votes by Religion:
Protestant (55 percent of voters):
Obama: 48 percent
Romney: 51 percent
Catholic (25 percent):
Obama: 44 percent
Romney: 55 percent
No religious affiliation (12 percent):
Obama: 71 percent
Romney: 22 percent
By Race:
White:
Obama: 42 percent
Romney: 57 percent
African-American:
Obama: 96 percent
Romney: 4 percent
Latino:
Obama: 56 percent
Romney: 40 percent
AP Photo
FLORIDA:
OBAMA: 50 percent
ROMNEY: 49 percent
By gender:
Men:
Romney: 52 percent
Obama: 47 percent
Women:
Romney: 46 percent
Obama: 53 percent
Romney voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 31 percent
30 to 44: 47 percent
45 to 64: 51 percent
65 and older: 58 percent
Obama voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 67 percent
30 to 44: 52 percent
45 to 64: 48 percent
65 and older: 42 percent
Votes by ideology:
Liberal (23 percent of voters):
Obama: 87 percent
Romney: 12 percent
Moderate (43 percent):
Obama: 53 percent
Romney: 46 percent
Conservative (35 percent):
Obama: 21 percent
Romney: 78 percent
Votes by Religion:
Protestant (50 percent of voters):
Obama: 42 percent
Romney: 57 percent
Catholic (24 percent):
Obama: 48 percent
Romney: 52 percent
Jewish ( 5 percent):
Obama: 66 percent
Romney: 31 percent
Other (6 percent):
Obama: 68 percent
Romney: 29 percent
No religious affiliation (15 percent):
Obama: 71 percent
Romney: 26 percent
By Race:
White:
Obama: 38 percent
Romney: 61 percent
African-American:
Obama: 96 percent
Romney: 4 percent
Latino:
Obama: 60 percent
Romney: 39 percent
Neil Vigdor/Greenwich Time
CONNECTICUT:
OBAMA: 66 percent
ROMNEY: 33 percent
By gender:
Men:
Romney: 51 percent
Obama: 47 percent
Women:
Romney: 39 percent
Obama: 60 percent
Romney voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 33 percent
30 to 44: 47 percent
45 to 64: 44 percent
65 and older: 51 percent
Obama voter break down by age:
18 to 29: 62 percent
30 to 44: 52 percent
45 to 64: 54 percent
65 and older: 49 percent
Votes by ideology:
Liberal (27 percent of voters):
Obama: 91 percent
Romney: 7 percent
Moderate (48 percent):
Obama: 54 percent
Romney: 45 percent
Conservative (26 percent):
Obama: 16 percent
Romney: 83 percent
Votes by Religion:
Protestant (34 percent of voters):
Obama: 55 percent
Romney: 43 percent
Catholic (41 percent):
Obama: 45 percent
Romney: 54 percent
No religious affiliation (12 percent):
Obama: 71 percent
Romney: 25 percent
By Race:
White:
Obama: 46 percent
Romney: 52 percent
African-American:
Obama: 91 percent
Romney: 8 percent
Latino:
Obama: 80 percent
Romney: 18 percent
Mitt Romney, wears a Boston Red Sox jersey, at a hotel in New York. (Gregory Bul/AP Photo)
Here’s a bit of political trivia from a proud history major:
