As the 2012 election season climaxed last Tuesday, it was difficult to find a news station not covering every minute aspect of election night. News channels scoured every corner of the country to find pundits, panderers and professors willing to chime in on the event, to at least fill time waiting for the results.

The Washburn Review did not shy away from this incessant coverage and, instead, embraced it. For nearly three and a half hours, senior editors A.J. Dome and Alex Sonnich, aided by political science student and interim political correspondent Ivan Moya, reported on state, local, and national election results. They offered insights and information on the candidates.

“Losing the 2008 primaries and never making it to the general election and having to still campaign after that, [Mitt Romney] has really been running for the last six years,” said Moya.

“And it really will be a more contested race compared to 2008, when Obama won with 365 electoral votes.”

The Review’s live coverage was supplemented by staff member Colton Goeffert, who collected predictions and opinions of the candidates from Washburn students during the on-campus election watch parties.

“One student at Washburn voted for Obama because he has helped stop the recession…and because Obama has policies that are pro-LGBT,” reported Goeffert.

As state election results began to flood the airwaves, it became more apparent that the statistical analysis by New York Times blogger Nate Silver would prove correct in predicting an Obama win.

“Many of the swing states are the last to be called. They’re difficult to call, and according to Nate Silver’s analysis Obama has been ahead in about 18 of 20 of those [swing state] polls,” said Sonnich.

NBC was the first news organization to call the race, predicting an Obama victory over candidate Romney at 11:12 p.m. E.T.

“President Barack Obama will continue to be the president, and we salute you, sir. We’ll see how these next four years play out,” said Dome.

Review correspondents were also joined by Freshman political science major Connor England, who explained the role of several new, controversial voter ID laws in state elections.

“Particularly, we are seeing issues in Pennsylvania and Ohio now, although they aren’t required to do it, people at the polls are telling people they can’t vote because they don’t have an ID present,” said England. “This isn’t a federal law whatsoever, but people are being turned away by it.”

Ballot initiatives allowing same-sex marriage passed in Maine and Maryland, passing by popular vote for the first time in United States history. In Colorado and Washington state, initiatives legalizing marijuana for recreational use both passed, also a first for the country.

The Washburn Review’s full coverage of the 2012 presidential election, including results from local and state races, can be found online at the Review’s website.