The votes are still being tallied, but Barack Obama won a second term tonight in convincing fashion, sweeping most of the battleground states to defeat Mitt Romney. Bloomberg News called the race at 11:14 p.m. EST.
There were other winners: Senate Democrats, who defended a tough slate of incumbents to hold onto their majority and may actually expand it. Independent and Democratic pollsters who forecast this outcome; the mainstream media, which did a laudable job of reporting on the issues that would decide the race, often in the face of hysterical criticism; and don’t forget Nate Silver.
