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Obama wins re-election! After a closely fought race with his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, Barack Obama has won a second term, securing an electoral and popular vote victory.

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The race had been described as a nail biter. But was the final result in any doubt? New York Times blogger Nate Silver forecast with confidence that Obama would win. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power decided to payout early on bets backing Obama.

Key to success: states such as Florida, Virginia and Ohio. But with those states going blue, the path to victory was cut off for Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan.

Obama's win was not as convincing as his 2008 election. And the popular vote was close. The Republicans retain control of the House and the Democrats retain control of the Senate. In other words, not much has changed.

Can a divided government in America find the way forward?