- NEW: President Barack Obama surpasses the 270 electoral votes for victory, CNN projects
- NEW: Supporters dance with joy at Obama's victory party in Chicago
- NEW: Mitt Romney was unable to capture key battleground states
- A heavy turnout is reported around the country
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Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama rode a wave of broad support from minorities, women and moderates to win re-election Tuesday by defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Democratic strongholds and key battleground states.
According to CNN projections, Obama surpassed the decisive 270-vote threshold in the Electoral College with victory in Ohio. The win gave him 274 electoral votes to 201 for Romney, based on CNN's projections based on unofficial returns.
Joyful supporters danced and cheered at Obama's victory party in Chicago, while the mood at Romney's election-night gathering in Boston was somber.
Election Day 2012 Live
Obama withstood a late push by Romney in Pennsylvania and won battleground states of Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa, according to CNN projections.
He also easily won traditional Democratic strongholds of California, New York and other populous states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Romney mounted a late but unsuccessful push.
Exit polls showed Obama received strong support, as expected, from women voters as well as overwhelming support from African Americans and strong backing from Hispanic voters, similar to the coalition that carried him to victory four years earlier to make him the nation's first African American president.
Meanwhile, CNN projected that Democrats will retain their majority in the Senate, ensuring another divided Congress after Republicans earlier were projected to hold their majority in the U.S. House.
Obama and Romney ran dead even in final polls that hinted at a result rivaling some of the closest presidential elections in history, reflecting the deep political chasm in the country.
A heavy turnout was reported in much of the nation, and both campaigns expressed confidence that they would prevail in what was expected to be a long night awaiting results from the eight states still up for grabs that will determine the victor.
Election 2012: Projections
As predicted, the election was decided in the battleground states, and as the returns emerged, it became clear that Romney was failing to win enough of them to have a chance.
Overall, Romney led by 50%-48% over Obama, or 1.4 million votes, with about 40% of the unofficial national tally counted.
Obama won his home state of Illinois as well as Romney' s home state of Massachusetts -- where the Republican previously served as governor. He also won Romney's birth state of Michigan, along with California, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia, according to the CNN projections.
Romney won North Carolina, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Missouri and Georgia, CNN projects.
According to early exit polls, 60% of voters said the economy was the most important issue, 59% thought abortion should be legal and 50% wanted Obama's health care reform law repealed while 43% wanted it to remain in place or be expanded.
The breakdown of voters, according to the early exit polls, was 73% white, 13% African American, 10% Latino and 3% Asian. Pre-election polls showed Romney holding an advantage among white men while Obama had the edge with white women, and Obama receiving overwhelming support among minorities.
With the victory, Obama will face the challenge of leading a country facing chronic federal deficits and debt as well as sluggish economic growth in the wake of a devastating recession and financial industry collapse that confronted Obama when he took office in January 2009.
Around the country, voters formed long lines at polling places after record numbers participated in early balloting, indicating a strong turnout.
Sporadic reports of irregularities included malfunctioning voting machines and other problems, including electoral hardships for some struggling to recover from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy in states in the country's northeast.
A judge in Philadelphia, a heavily Democratic city, ordered election officials to cover a mural of Obama at one school used as a polling location after Republicans complained the painting violated election laws.
Elsewhere in the city, GOP poll monitors were being escorted into precincts by sheriff's deputies after some observers had been denied access earlier in the day, said Tasha Jamerson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
In New Jersey, which permitted electronic balloting in the aftermath of last week's storm, the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union headed to court on Tuesday on behalf of voters who said their requests for an electronic ballot weren't being acknowledged.
Candidates usually take Election Day off, but both sides continued to make public appearances even as voting was under way.
Obama visited a local Democratic election center in the Chicago area, while Vice President Joe Biden made "an unannounced but long-scheduled" stop in the key battleground state of Ohio.
Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, also arrived separately in Ohio, with Romney's campaign plane and Air Force Two, which carries the vice president, crossing paths at Cleveland's airport.
Earlier Tuesday, Romney cast his ballot outside of Boston on Tuesday, while Obama previously became the first sitting president to vote early when he did so in Chicago last month.
No matter who wins the presidency, the White House and Congress will face fresh pressure to legislate a comprehensive deficit reduction deal that has been stymied so far by intransigence on the issue of tax reform, with Republicans refusing to consider any kind of tax increase while Obama and Democrats insist on at least the wealthy paying a higher income tax rate.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who says he admires Barack Obama's communication skills and honesty, has scored 16 goals in just 12 games for Real Madrid this season. 
Ronaldo and former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney have both revealed their support for Barack Obama in the U.S. Presidential race, with neither previously known for their political leanings. 
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus believes Mitt Romney's business acumen will provide a brighter future for his children and grandchildren in the financially-troubled United States. 
NBA star LeBron James has shrugged off concerns he could damage his raft of endorsements by packing one of the candidates. The Miami Heat small forward tweeted his backing for President Obama. 
Basketballer Carmelo Anthony, seen here celebrating 2012 Olympic gold, is in no doubt as to who he can trust, helping Obama during a fund-raising day in New York in August. 
Golfer Rickie Fowler, 23, recently declared his support for Romney, so earning the ire of some of his 400,000 followers on Twitter. 
Willie Mays, one of baseball's all-time greats, has thrown his backing behind Obama, along with Hank Aaron, a fellow legend of the sport. 
Michael Eruzione, who captained the United States' ice hockey team to their stunning 'Miracle on Ice' victory over the Soviet Union in 1980, is introduced at the Republican National Convention in August, when he gave his backing to Romney. Mays the best candidate win
Presidential candidates' sporting endorsements Despite the building drama toward Election Day in the campaign expected to cost $2.6 billion, much of the outcome already was known.
Popular, electoral vote split? It's happened before
Only a handful of states were considered up for grabs and both candidates and their campaigns concluded an exhausting final sprint through them over the weekend and on Monday.
The barnstorming amounted to a montage of Americana electioneering, with Obama and Romney shouting themselves hoarse before boisterous crowds, joined by top surrogates and star power such as Bruce Springsteen singing for Obama and Kid Rock for Romney.
In their final speeches, the candidates and their running mates blended inspirational visions for a better future with well-honed attacks in hopes of ensuring their committed supporters actually cast ballots while trying to coax votes from anyone still undecided.
Obama, Romney make final pitches
Obama briefly waxed nostalgic at his first event on Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, referring to Springsteen when he said: "I get to fly around with him on the last day that I will ever campaign, so that's not a bad way to end things."
He cited accomplishments of his first term, including ending the war in Iraq, winding down the war in Afghanistan, passing health insurance and Wall Street reforms, and ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that banned openly gay and lesbian personnel from the military.
"I know what real change looks like," the president said, referring to what he characterizes as Romney's false claim of being an agent of needed change. "You've got cause to believe me because you've seen me fight for it and you've seen me deliver it. You have seen the scars on me to prove it. You have seen the gray hair on my head to show you what it means to fight for change. And you've been there with me. And after all we've been through together we can't give up now because we've got more change to do."
Emotion overtook the president at the end of the day.
His eyes welled with tears as he thanked the people "who've given so much to this campaign over the years," during a stop in Des Moines, Iowa -- a place where his first campaign gained an early foothold in his first run for the White House.
Republicans pick up key seat in governors' races
"You took this campaign and made it of your own and you organized yourselves block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, county by county, starting a movement that spread across the country," Obama said wiping away tears three times as he talked.
For his part, Romney called Obama's record one of underachievement and failure, telling a cheering Virginia crowd at his second stop of the day that "almost every measure he took hurt the economy, hurt fellow Americans."
At an earlier event in Florida, Romney asked if people wanted four more years like the last four, raising the specter of continuing gridlock in Washington and adding that "unless we change course, we may be looking at another recession."
He promised to repeal the health care and Wall Street reforms of the Obama presidency and to "limit government rather than limiting the dreams" of Americans.
"We have known many long days and some short nights and now we are close. The door to a brighter future is open. It is waiting for us. I need your vote. I need your help. Walk with me. Tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow," Romney said.
As the challenger, Romney sought to frame the election as a referendum on Obama's presidency and to capitalize on his own background as multimillionaire businessman by depicting himself as better able to handle economic issues identified by voters as their biggest concern. His campaign stump speech hammered Obama over high unemployment and what he called excessive taxes and regulations that Romney said stifled faster growth.
Obama and his team attacked Romney's politics and his background as a venture capitalist, saying he would back policies favoring the wealthy over the middle class and exacerbate the already widening income and opportunity disparity in the country. The president wanted the race to come down to competing visions for the future and his oft-repeated goal of restoring the promise of the American dream of equal opportunity for all.
In particular, Obama repeatedly noted he backed a taxpayer bailout that helped restore General Motors and Chrysler while Romney opposed it. The issue resonated in auto industry states like Michigan and Ohio, which was considered the most significant of the battlegrounds in the final days of the race.
Campaign chess match
Aside from the policy differences, the election amounted to a campaign chess match targeting specific states and demographic groups as part of plan to create a path to electoral success. Polling portrayed a race that hinged on the social and democratic divides in American society, with Obama supported most strongly by women, minorities and young respondents, while Romney did better among wealthy and middle class white men, from senior citizens down to 30-year-olds.
In response, Obama emphasized the anti-choice positions of Romney and conservatives on abortion, their stance against gay rights and their opposition to providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.
Re-election offered Obama, 51, the chance to secure a two-term legacy and seek further reforms he promised in his historic campaign of 2008 but was unable to deliver in the first four years. In particular, he has made comprehensive immigration reform a top target, as well as a deficit reduction plan that ends tax breaks for income over $250,000.
However, the wave of optimism that carried to him to victory four years ago seemed muted this time, with former supporters angered by the failure to achieve the kind of change in Washington they believed Obama had promised but failed to deliver.
For Romney, a multimillionaire businessman seeking to become the nation's first Mormon president, the election concluded a six-year quest for the presidency.
Romney also failed in his first bid for the Republican nomination in 2008, then spent the next two years preparing for a second run that began in 2011 with a grueling primary campaign featuring a record 20 debates.
Romney, 65, shifted to the right for the primary race to overcome a broad field that included former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and businessman Herman Cain.
Romney declared himself "severely" conservative and adopted stances against abortion, gay marriage and a path to legal residency for undocumented immigrants while also opposing higher tax rates as part of a deficit reduction plan. His support remained steady -- though well below a majority -- throughout the primary campaign while opponents dropped out one by one until Romney emerged as the winner and claimed the nomination at the GOP convention in late August.
However, his campaign endured a tough September, due in part to some unforced errors. A secretly recorded video from a May fundraiser became public, showing Romney referring to 47% of the country as dependent on government handouts and therefore unreachable to him as a candidate.
When U.S. diplomatic compounds came under attack on September 11, including an assault that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya, Romney quickly issued a statement that was criticized for mistaken information and seeking to politicize a sensitive national security issue.
Then, in the first presidential debate on October 3, Romney began an energetic shift back to the political center and scored a clear victory over Obama by presenting himself as more moderate than the right-wing zealot portrayed by the president.
Obama's lackluster showing in the first debate contributed to an overwhelming consensus among analysts and poll results that Romney carried the night, and he began rising in the polls to erase what had been a consistent Obama lead since the conventions a month earlier.
Stronger performances by Obama in the second and third debates began to slow Romney's momentum, though the Romney team claimed a surge put states like Michigan and Pennsylvania back in play. They were previously thought safe for the president.
With polls tightening in the final weeks, Romney or his surrogates heightened their attacks on key issues, including a campaign ad that implied the auto bailout led to shifting the production of iconic Chrysler Jeeps to China. The automaker joined the Obama campaign in complaining that the ad was misleading, and the president said it was intended to scare workers for political gain.
21 moments that defined the campaign and America
Superstorm Sandy
However, the biggest impact on the end of the campaign was Superstorm Sandy, which blasted the East Coast from Maryland to Connecticut just over a week before Election Day. Obama and Romney canceled campaign events, and the president shifted to full emergency response mode as the storm and its devastation dominated the national focus for much of the final full week of campaigning.
On the ground, record numbers of voters cast early ballots as both sides boasted of ramped-up organizations to identify and contact supporters.
Overall, the total cost of the election for president and Congress could top a record-breaking $6 billion, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. The figure covers spending from January 2011 through whatever totals emerge after Tuesday's election.
Outside groups accounted for the biggest boost in spending, with independent organizations dropping more than $970 million. The increase was largely related to the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for super PACs to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money as long as they did not coordinate with the campaigns.
Could close race produced a popular/electoral vote split?
CNN's Ed Payne, Ashley Killough, Rachel Streitfeld, Shawna Shepherd, Jim Acosta, Robert Yoon, Brad Rhoads, Ann Colwell, Sarah Hoye, Courtney Yager and Halimah Abdullah contributed to this report.
A reveller wearing a 'Stars and Stripes' suit awaits results at the U.S. Embassy in London during an election night party. 
Voters cast their ballots in Mansfield, Texas, on Tuesday. 
A man votes inside the Town Hall in Franconia, Minnesota. 
Horse Gall precinct clerk David Smith talks with poll worker and daughter-in-law Charlene Smith at the home of his father, Vincent Smith, in Varnville, South Carolina. The precinct's polling place is in the elder Smith's den. 
A woman walks out of a polling place after voting in South Jordan, Utah. The Jordan River Utah Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is visible in the background. 
A voter's shadow appears on the wall as he arrives at a Phoenix, Arizona, polling station Tuesday. 
Penn State students wait in line to vote in the student union building on the State College, Pennsylvania, campus. 
Voters enter the polling site at StarBridge Christian Center in Wildwood, Missouri. 
Robert Palmer, left, and Pat Payne wait in line to cast their vote at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. 
Three-term Democratic congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Chris Murphy casts his vote with his 1-year-old son Rider at Cheshire High School in Cheshire, Connecticut. 
A voter casts her ballot in the gymnasium of Douglas Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. 
An elderly women casts her vote at Salem Baptist Church in Sparta, Virginia. Her home state is a hotly contested battleground in this tight presidential race. 
A man exits a voting booth at a fire station in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. As the New Jersey coastline continues to recover from Superstorm Sandy, numerous polling stations have had to merge and relocate due to storm damage and power outages. 
Gaberyel Chandler casts his vote with the help of safety patrol officer Cheyenne Roberts during a mock presidential election Tuesday at Emerald Shores Elementary School in Ocala, Florida. 
Adults of the Uddin family, originally from Bangladesh, vote together at the Hightower Elementary School polling site in Doraville, Georgia. 
Kezia Gipson, 3, waits with her grandparents Doris Ross and Freddie Irvin in a voting line at the International Longshoremen's Association Office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday. 
A carved pumpkin greets voters at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. 
Kaira Ray watches as her grandmother Theresa Bigl votes at the old Town Hall in Bristol, New Hampshire. 
Samantha Pelletier shows off her voting sticker outside Bristol's old Town Hall. 
A poll worker directs people to a temporary polling center in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York. Polling sites in Coney Island and the surrounding area were damaged during Superstorm Sandy. 
A sign directs disabled voters to a polling site entrance at the Graham & Parks School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
Amy O'Neill, left, and Michelle Nowakowski show off an "I Voted" sticker on their Boston terrier Penny in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
Voters cast their ballots at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. 
People cast their ballots inside a decorator's garage in South Philadelphia on Tuesday. 
A person votes at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. 
A jogger on The Strand in the Los Angeles area community of Hermosa Beach passes a directional sign to a polling place at sunrise Tuesday. 
Darrick West stands at a voting booth at Salem Baptist Church, on Tuesday, November 6 in Sparta, Virginia. The state is one of several hotly contested battlegrounds, with recent polls showing the race between President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney remains tight. 
Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan and his family head to the polls in Janesville, Wisconsin. 
People line up to cast their ballots at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. 
A voter takes a moment to read a paper ballot before casting her vote on Chicago's Northside. 
Voters mark paper ballots at Halloran Skating Rink in Cleveland, Ohio. 
Derrick Banks wears an "I Voted" sticker on his forehead after casting his ballot in Chicago. 
Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, kiss after casting their votes in Belmont, Massachusetts. 
Stickers for voters are seen at Tremont Elementary School in Cleveland, Ohio. 
Voters line up to cast their vote at the Boston Public Library in Romney's home state of Massachusetts. 
Citizens wait in line at a polling station in a senior appartment complex in Chicago. 
A citizen votes at Carleton Middle School in Sterling Heights, Michigan. 
Voters line up at the Mount Pleasant Library early Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio. The state, with its coveted 18 electoral votes, is one of the key battlegrounds in the race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. 
Vice President Joe Biden, center, heads toward the voting booth in Greenville, Delaware. 
Voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, wait to cast the first Election Day ballots of the U.S. presidential race shortly after midnight. The village has opened polls early since 1960, but for the first time in its history, there was a tie. Obama and Romney each received five votes. 
Voters wait outside the Johnson County election office in Olathe, Kansas, on Monday, November 5, the last day of early voting. 
Residents of Ocean County vote in Toms River, New Jersey, on Monday. A special early mail voting arrangement allows residents of the areas affected by Superstorm Sandy to vote in person with a mail-in ballot on short notice. 
Two-year-old Ariel Ferreras accompanies his mother, Erika, as she votes in Silver Spring, Maryland, on Friday, November 2. Voters in Maryland broke the state's record for early voting turnout. 
Early voters fill out their ballots on the first day of early voting in Miami on October 27. Early voting in the swing state of Florida was held for eight straight 12-hour days. 
An election worker helps President Barack Obama as he votes early at the Martin Luther King Community Center in Chicago on October 25. 
Carol Braddock of Los Angeles casts her vote in Norwalk, California, on October 25. 
Jalani Hervey, 5, waits with his grandmother, Victoria Gross, while she stands in line to cast a ballot during early voting in Milwaukee on October 22. 
Election judges William Moeller, left, and Harry Sabin transfer ballots from a drop box outside of the library in Denver on October 22. 
Phignora Brown, left, gets assistance from a polling station worker as she casts her ballot on the first day of early voting in Las Vegas on October 20. 
Electronic voting authorization cards are returned at the East Las Vegas Community Center polling station on October 20. 
A man uses a touch screen voting booth to cast his ballot on the first day of early voting in Washington on October 22. 
Jaime Grant carries her 11-month-old daughter, Brynn, and holds her 3-year-old son Brian's hand as she casts her ballot during early voting in College Park, Georgia, on October 19. 
A voter displays an "I Voted" sticker on her lapel after voting early in Wilson, North Carolina, on October 18. 
Kalli Hannafious holds her daughter Averie as she signs in for early voting in Anchorage, Alaska on October 2. 
Jerry Nagel fills in his ballot during early voting at the Black Hawk County Courthouse in Waterloo, Iowa, on September 27, the first day of early voting in the state. 
Pre-med student DrRodgerArdo's vision is shaped by his commitment to health care. Read his full iReport here. 
Fubao Wang became a U.S. citizen 10 years ago. You can read his vision for America on CNN iReport. 
South Carolina college student Byron Thomas says he learned the importance of working together by playing sports. You can see his vision for America in his iReport. 
Jacob Winge, 19, has been very active in the 2012 campaign and has volunteered for Republican candidates and Tea Party events. 
Rick Huffman says he expects the next president to turn the economy around. He shared his vision for America in a video on CNN iReport. 
Commenter indymod shared one reason he was supporting President Barack Obama. 
Commenter gwedards explains supporting Mitt Romney. 
Brendan O'Brien explains why he is supporting Romney. 
Commenter Marzan Ahmed explains why he is voting for Obama. 
With election fever in full swing, take a look at the 44 presidents of the United States. George Washington, the first president (1789-1797) 
John Adams, the second president (1797-1801) 
Thomas Jefferson, the third president (1801-1809) 
James Madison, the fourth president (1809-1817) 
James Monroe, the fifth president (1817-1825) 
John Quincy Adams, the sixth president (1825-1829) 
Andrew Jackson, the seventh president (1829-1837) 
Martin Van Buren, the eighth president (1837-1841) 
William Henry Harrison, the ninth president (March to April 1841) 
John Tyler, the 10th president (1841-1845) 
James K. Polk, the 11th President (1845-1849) 
Zachary Taylor, the 12th president (1849-1850) 
Millard Fillmore, the 13th president (1850-1853) 
Franklin Pierce, the 14th president (1852-1856) 
James Buchanan, the 15th president (1857-1861) 
Abraham Lincoln, the16th president (1861-1865) 
Andrew Johnson, the 17th president (1865-1869) 
Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president (1869-1877) 
Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president (1877-1881) 
James A. Garfield, the20th president (March to September 1881) 
Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president (1881-1885) 
Grover Cleveland, the 22nd president (1885-1889) and the 24th president (1893-1897) 
Benjamin Harrison, the23rd president (1889-1893) 
William McKinley, the 25th president (1897-1901) 
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president (1901-1909) 
William Howard Taft, the 27th president (1909-1913) 
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president (1913-1921) 
Warren G. Harding the 29th president (1921-1923) 
Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president (1923-1929) 
Herbert Hoover, the 31st president (1929-1933) 
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president (1933-1945) 
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president (1945-1953) 
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president (1953-1961) 
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president (1961-1963) 
Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president (1963-1969) 
Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president (1969-1974) 
Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president (1974-1977) 
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president (1977-1981) 
Ronald Reagan, the 40th president (1981-1989) 
George H.W. Bush, the 41st president (1989-1993) 
William J. Clinton, the 42nd president (1993-2001) 
George W. Bush, the 43rd president (2001-2009) 
Barack Obama, the 44th president (2009-present) 
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