Interactive map: How the swing states voted

TORONTO – A handful of swing states in the U.S. had the country’s fate in their hands, with the majority of voters siding with the Democrats, keeping President Barack Obama in the White House for another four years.

While more than 100 million Americans took to the ballot box on Tuesday, the candidates are focused their last-ditch efforts on just a few key states that hold the key to securing a win.
Still, it appears Romney’s cause was fruitless: in seven out of nine swing states identified, his opponent Obama took home the electoral votes prize.

In Canada, an MP winning in his or her riding hands their political party another seat in the House of Commons and inches the party leader closer to taking the prime minister posting, but in the U.S., winning a state provides the candidate a designated number of electoral votes. The electoral votes are based on that state’s population. It doesn’t matter if President Barack Obama or Republican opponent Mitt Romney takes a state by a landslide – as long as they can eke out a win, they’ll take the region’s electoral votes.

Each candidate needed 270 electors to win.

Global News maps out key battleground states the candidates were fighting over and how these states added to Obama’s road to victory.

Take a look at voting profiles, including history, unemployment rates and demographics of each U.S. state here.

Nevada: Obama with 52 per cent of the vote
6 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: In the past six elections the pendulum has swung back and forth between the two parties, each tied with three wins. Obama took this once conventionally Republican state from McCain in 2008, while this year based on the pattern, this state is up for grabs. He did it again in 2012.

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Colorado: Obama wins with 51 per cent of the vote
9 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: Obama’s 2012 win is the third time in 12 presidential elections that Colorado voters rejected the Republican nominee, the LA Times reports. In 1992, Bill Clinton was the only other Democrat to take this state. Much of Obama’s support came from the state’s urban hub of Denver.

Iowa: Obama wins with 52 per cent of the vote
6 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Democrat
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: Iowa is truly a swing state in that its population appears to be divided: Al Jazeera reports that rural regions of the west typically favour Republicans, while in the east, voters sway slightly left. In 2008, Obama took this Midwest state’s votes by a mere 10 points. This year, the farming region handed him the win by only six per cent.

Wisconsin: Obama wins with 53 per cent of the vote
10 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Democrat
2004: Democrat
2008: Democrat

Notes: Obama’s camp kept a watchful eye over this reliable Democratic state – on the GOP ticket was Romney’s vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan, the young, eager and – most importantly – born and bred Wisconsin native. Ryan’s hometown advantage didn’t help Romney take this typically Democratic state.

Virginia: Obama wins with 51 per cent of the vote
13 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: Before Obama swept the nation in 2008 with his promise for change, the GOP had this region on lock – the state was painted red nine of the 10 previous elections dating as far back as 1972. Those are deep roots, but the Old Dominion has seen a change in its demographics with an influx of immigrants who tend to favour Democrats, a factor at play in this state’s shaky ground. Obama took the state with a last-minute sweep of votes that brought him to a comeback.

Ohio: Obama wins with 50 per cent of the vote

18 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: The old adage “As goes Ohio, so goes the nation” has some legs: with 18 electoral votes at play in the Buckeye State, whoever wins claims a big pot. This state is notorious for switching team colours – in the past 10 elections, the Republicans have walked away with six wins while the Democrats have taken four. Romney was walking on eggshells with this Midwest state – each Republican presidential winner hasn’t claimed the top job without taking Ohio. His loss here solidified Obama’s next four years in the Oval Office.

North Carolina: Romney wins with 51 per cent of the vote
15 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: Voters divided in this state, according to polling before election day. Obama managed to turn the region blue after decades of Republican reign – the last Democratic win was in 1976 –but pollsters suggested he was in for an uphill climb this time around. He lost, making this the single swing state that moved in Romney’s favour.

New Hampshire: Obama wins with 52 per cent of the vote
4 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Democrat
2008: Democrat

Notes: Next door to Romney’s stronghold of Maine is New Hampshire, whose voters are known for being independent and without ties to either party. The small swing state is complex: Obama pulled out a win because of liberals moving into the East Coast, and because younger voters connected with him. Still, the region’s older population favours the right and generally sides with the party that’ll provide the electorate with the least government intrusion. That’s where Romney hoped to make an impression. It didn’t work.

Florida: The winner is still undecided
29 electoral votes

Voting history:
2000: Republican
2004: Republican
2008: Democrat

Notes: A lot was at stake in the swing state of swing states with a hefty 29 vote jackpot. For starters, the northern part of this southern state tends to lean right, but that’s balanced out by Obama-loving cities, such as Miami. Some of those affected by housing foreclosures were hardest hit in Florida, a large population of seniors is looking at what each candidate is proposing to them and vast communities of Latino voters are also free agents. Neither candidate has made groundbreaking advances on any of these issues. As of Wednesday, Florida has not yet been called even with 97 per cent of polls reporting their results.