On Nov. 6, 2012, eager voters lined up across the nation to cast their ballot for positions ranging from President of the United States to County Judge.

 Since the end of the Republican primary election, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney  campaigned against the incumbent, President Barack Obama. Romney did, indeed, run a close race with the president. According to the Gallup polls survey of likely voters, in the final week preceding the election, Romney was ahead of the president by one percent.

In the end, however, President Barack Obama won the presidential election with 332 electoral votes versus Romney’s 206 electoral votes. In Texas, a historically Republican state, the popular vote was cast for Romney. In Bexar county, the popular vote favored the president, with 52 percent of the vote as opposed to Romney’s 47 percent. 

In the United States Senate race, the Democrats retained seats as the majority party with 55 Senate seats, as opposed to the 45 Republican seats. In the race for retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s seat in the US Senate, Tea Party favorite Republican Ted Cruz defeated Democrat Paul Sadler, 57 percent to 41 percent. A Democrat has not held a statewide office in Texas since 1994.

In total, 23 Democrat and 10 Republican seats were up for grabs during these Senate elections. The Republicans picked up Nebraska and the Democrats gained Indiana and Massachusetts.

In local U.S. Congressional Districts, there were 36 seats in the House of Representatives up for election in Texas. The 20th, 21st and 23rd Congressional Districts encompass most of the San Antonio area. In District 20, Democrat Joaquin Castro won the race against Republican David Rosa with 64 percent of the vote. In District 21, the Republican incumbent Lamar Smith won re-election with 61 percent of the vote against Democrat candidate Candace Duval. In District 23, Democrat Pete Gallego won against Republican incumbent Francisco “Quico” Canseco with 50 percent of the vote.

 San Antonio residents also passed the Pre-K 4 SA initiative, largely supported by Mayor Julian Castro and his brother, Representative-elect Joaquin Castro. The initiative aims to educate 22,400 under-privileged four-year-olds.

President Obama will have little time to enjoy his victory before he goes back to work to address the call for an extension of the tax cuts for middle class families and a tax increase on those who earn over $250,000 a year. The predominantly Democratic Senate has already pre-approved the tax initiative and anticipates a response from the Republican-run House of Representatives. With President Obama back in office and the Democrats remaining in control of the U.S. Senate, many Americans are wondering if bipartisan compromise in Congress can be reached in the next four years.