US election 2012: Obama v Romney

It was the Obama speech his supporters had been waiting for: the confidence and the optimism and the promise of better things to come. But how did he win – and what happens next?

So how did Obama clinch victory? Was it Hurricane Sandy that sealed the deal or the nascent economic recovery? A lot of people are putting it down to something more prosaic: changing demographics.

As presidential voting figures reveal the role of women in Barack Obama’s re-election and with a record number of female senators returned, Cathy Newman looks back on a momentous night for US women.

Barack Obama wins his second term as US president after beating Republican rival Mitt Romney. “This happened because of you,” President Obama tweets.

It is a second defeat in a row for the Republicans, despite a big spending US election campaign. Jonathan Rugman reports on the recriminations as the GOP looks for someone to blame.

He has been re-elected president, but Barack Obama now has another big challenge: the so-called “fiscal cliff”. Channel 4 News looks at what lies ahead.

How the race was won: Channel 4 News maps the battle for the White House state by state.

There have been cheers, as Obama and Romney whooped up supporters one last time, and there have been tears. Now, at last, it is time for the voters to decide. It could be a long night.

Most final polls are putting Barack Obama and Mitt Romney neck and neck, with a few putting the president a fraction ahead. Jonathan Rugman is in Massachusetts with the Romney campaign.

They were queuing at some polling stations at 4.30am, with voters waiting hours to cast their ballots. Polling watchdogs are reporting some irregularities in key states: a sign of trouble to come?

Some 120 million people are expected to cast their votes on the last day of the presidential election. Matt Frei is in the hometown of Barack Obama, who has a slender lead according to the polls.

Election 2012 has been one of the closest US presidential contests ever. Jon Snow talks to two party strategists about its possible outcome as the campaign draws to a close.

As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney make their final sprint for the White House, we look at the presidential CV and the major challenges facing the next administration.