Full election coverage, photos
Stat recap of weekend’s sporting events
Page 5
Page 7
Eastern News FOUR MORE YEARS T
H
E
D
A
I
L
Y
Wednesday
NOVEMBER 7, 2012 V O LU M E 9 7 | N o. 5 6
D A I LY E A S T E R N N E W S . C O M T WIT TER.COM/DEN_NE WS
“Tell t h e t r u t h a n d d o n ’ t b e a fr a i d . ”
LOC AL
C AMPUS
South Quad filled with celebration
Bower wins state’s attorney position
By Seth Schroeder Opinions Editor
By Elizabeth Edwards & Rachel Rodgers Editor-in-Chief & News Editor
Republican Brian Bower won state’s attorney for Coles County with 60.2 percent of the votes, while Democrat Todd Reardon received 39.8 percent of the votes. The 44 precincts of Coles County reported that Bower received 12,400 votes with Reardon receiving 8,213 votes. Bower said he is pleased by the results, but was surprised by the marginal difference between him and Reardon. Reardon said he was prepared to lose, but also thought the results would be closer, and he predicted Bower would win with a 52-to-48 percent difference. Reardon said he was relying on the student vote, but he did not know how many students actually came out and voted. “I was running in a red county in a blue state,” Reardon said. “If a Democrat got 30 percent, a dead Republican would get 35 percent.” Reardon said he could not have done anything differently and has no regrets about his campaign and deciding to run. “Democracy only works when people run,” Reardon said. Reardon said he plans to continue to work as a defense attorney at his practice. As his first steps as state’s attorney, Bower said he plans to get to know the staff and to begin to work together with them. “I am anxious to accept the challenges of the position and I am ready to give my brand of justice,” Bower said. Bower will start his position as state’s attorney on Dec. 1. State’s Attorney was not the only contested race. In the race for 15th Congressional District, Republican candidate John Shimkus won over Democratic candidate Angela Michael with a vote of 11,817-8,591. Two referendums were also on the election ballot. The referendum for the municipal electrical aggregation program passed in Charleston with a vote of 4,326-2,032. The program will allow Charleston to negotiate its electric supply purchase to its residents and small businesses, having more control over electricity rates.
BOWER, page 5
ROBERT DUYOS | MC T
OBAMA WINS SECOND TERM
President Barack Obama speaks at Mcarthur High School Sunday in Hollywood, Fla.
By Nike Ogunbodede & Robyn Dexter Associate News Editor & In-depth Editor
At the time The Daily Eastern News went to print, President Barack Obama was narrowly surpassing Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the popular vote. The numbers in this article are those that were projected as of 11:54 p.m. Tuesday. President Barack Obama was elected to continue his position as the 44th president of the United States. The night began with Republican candidate Mitt Romney leading in the Electoral College votes as well as the popular vote. As the night went on, Obama was projected to get major battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa, Florida, Nevada and New Hampshire. Obama, who received 365 electoral votes in 2008, saw a significant decrease in numbers this year — a decrease that led to a neck-to-neck battle between the Republican and Democratic candidates. Voting closed later than projected, which resulted in precinct reporting coming in as late as 11 p.m. CT.
Other key points of Election Day: • Democrats remained in control of the U.S. Senate, and Republicans remained in control of the House of Representatives. • Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin became the first openly homosexual candidate elected to the U.S. Senate. • Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use by people age 21 and over, while results for similar amendments in Oregon and Washington were not available at press time. • Massachusetts approved the legalization of medicinal marijuana.
After receiving a projected 303 electoral votes, Obama refused to give his acceptance speech until Romney conceded. Romney conceded via phone call at about 11:50 p.m. before speaking to a crowd. Updates to this article will be posted on the dailyeasternnews.com as information comes in throughout the day. Chacour Koop contributed to this article. Nike Ogunbodede and Robyn Dexter can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@gmail.com.
Cheers of “four more years!” and general excited cries of “Obama!” erupted from the South Quad as students heard the results of the 2012 presidential election. Though various news organizations called the election at different times, much of the celebration on Eastern’s campus started around 10 p.m. when MSNBC announced President Barack Obama’s second term. Numerous students had gathered in the Andrews Hall basement to watch the election results as they were announced. After students heard the results, most made their way outside cheering with enthusiasm. Some began dancing in celebration. Shanae Connel, a junior English major, said she was ecstatic about the results. She said this was her first time voting in a presidential election and she did everything she could to help Obama. Not only did Connel vote, but she said she worked with the NAACP to help promote Obama. Another first-time voter, Xavier Menzies Jr., a freshman English major, said he felt empowered and was proud to live in a country with such social evolution. “It feels like I finally have a choice,” Menzies said. He said many people told him his vote was not going to make a difference, but he ignored them. “I wanted to be in the number of people who helped make a difference,” Menzies said. Both Connel and Menzies said education and student loan policies were deciding factors in their votes for this election. Despite student excitement on campus, Richard Wandling, a political science professor, said the youth of America has been less enthusiastic than the 2008 election. Wandling said this could be attributed to Obama’s campaign focusing more on what might go wrong if Romney is elected. While Obama still won the election, Wandling said many people likely voted for him, not out of enthusiasm, but to make sure Romney was not elected. David Carwell, a political science professor, agreed with Wandling, and said many voters were less excited about Obama because he ran as an incumbent this election. “You’re only new once,” Carwell said. Seth Schroeder can be reached at 581-2812 or scschroeder2@eiu.edu.
LOC AL
Political headquarters wrap up efforts By Tim Deters Features Editor
As crowds of voters headed to the polls Tuesday, the Coles County Democrats and Republicans headquarters took their final actions and prepared for the final votes to be cast. Opening their doors at 11 a.m., the Coles County Democrats headquarters, 605 Monroe Ave., imme-
diately began efforts to get local residents out to vote. “As of 11 a.m., we started calling all of our good Democrats to get them out to vote,” said Paul Wieck, Coles County Democrats chairman, the din of telephone conversations humming behind him. Sara Metzger, a volunteer at the Democrats headquarters, was calling registered Democrats to remind them to vote and answer any questions they might have about the voting process.
She said this year was the first year she has volunteered to help the voting process and that the day had been very busy but rewarding. “Today is kind of hectic,” she said. “This is the first time I have really volunteered for something like this. It’s been a good experience.” Among the volunteers shifting about the Democrats headquarters was EIU College Democrats president Ryan Plunkett, sifting through a list of registered
Democrats as he called out urging them to vote. Wieck said he was glad to see students involved in politics and was thankful for their efforts both on campus and in the community. The Democrats headquarters also organized transportation for voters who did not have a vehicle or who did not have access to handicapped-accessible vehicles to get out and vote, Wieck said. HEADQUARTERS, page 5