Preface: After beating Romney to the nomination Congresswoman Michele Bachmann became the first woman to win a major parties' nomination for President. She selected Mitt Romney with the hopes of balancing the ticket, a selection which was praised by the GOP.
She headed into election day trailing President Obama by two to three points based on the polling, but with a 8.9% unemployment rate which she hoped would propel her to the Presidency.
Election Night 2012
Good Evening America it is the moment we've all been waiting for, election night 2012. Tonight President Obama and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann square off for the Presidency. Based on the last poll Bachmann trails Obama by two points.
So let us begin and see which states are falling into line. It appears that the state of Vermont has gone to President Obama, no surprise there.
We can give the states of Indiana, South Carolina and Kentucky to Michele Bachmann, so that gives her a slight lead tonight, but we cannot project winners in Virginia or Georgia yet.
R: 28
D: 3
What do you make of Indiana going this early?
I'm not surprised. Obama won it narrowly four years ago and it was expected to go back to the GOP. What is telling that Georgia and Virginia are undecided, this has to be making the President very happy.
7:30
It thirty minutes past the hour and we can project Michele Bachmann the winner in West Virginia, but unable to declare winners in North Carolina or Ohio, two very contested states tonight.
According to reports there is massive turnout in Ohio as well as in North Carolina, so it is difficult to say who it benefits. I will say the Conservatives are very energized over Bachmann.
We can also project in a key senate race that Tim Kaine has been elected in the state of Virginia.
Kaine: 51%
Allen: 47%
We also project that Sherrod Brown has been reelected in the state of Ohio.
8:00
The eight o'clock hour and many states' polls have closed and we have winners to project. For President Obama we project he has carried:
Connecticut
Delaware
Maryland
Massachusetts
Maine
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Illinois
Pennsylvania
For Congresswoman Bachmann:
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Mississippi
Alabama
Missouri
D: 99
R: 76
Pennsylvania going this early for Obama is rather telling. Michele Bachmann campaigned heavily in that state, she thought she could turn it, but it goes for Obama again.
I'd say her chances are looking slim tonight. If she isn't able to keep a state like Georgia which seems to be treading Obama she's done.
Looking at Georgia Michele Bachmann leads the President narrowly.
GA:
R: 49.5%
D: 49.0%
I will go out on a limb here and say I think she can still do it, because of the state of Missouri. President Obama wanted to win that state. Bill Clinton was there, Vice President Biden was there. They outspent Bachmann almost 3-1 and yet she carried it. So I'm not giving up her yet.
We can also project that Bob Casey has been reelected in Pennsylvania.
8:30
We just projected Arkansas for Bachmann and we now are ready to project her the winner in Georgia, which now puts her 98 to the President's 99 delegates.
As we go to break we can now make a major projection, it appears that Michele Bachmann has carried the state of Florida, albeit narrowly.
FL:
R: 49.7%
D: 47.5%
R: 127
D: 99
This is certainly a big win for the Congresswoman, she needed to carry the state and she has done so. Now we need to see if the rest of the states fall into line, but this right now is giving her the momentum for the rest of the evening.
...
9:00
Welcome back and just as we went to break we made a major projection for the President. He has kept Virginia in the Democratic column. It is a narrow win but it goes for him.
Now looking at the other states up to grab we can project for Congresswoman Bachmann:
Kansas
Texas
Wyoming
South Dakota
Nebraska
Louisiana
For the President:
New York
New Mexico
Wisconsin
Michigan
Rhode Island
We cannot project a winner in the states of Minnesota, Colorado or Arizona at this time, but Bachmann leads in Colorado, while the President leads in Arizona and Minnesota by narrow margins.
R: 190
D: 176
We do have a major projection to make, we are retracting Virginia from the President's column back into the undecided one. We thought the President carried it, but the results are very thin.
VA:
D: 1,859,221
R: 1,859,198
What do you make of this?
Certainly the Bachmann campaign must be very happy. This news gives her campaign hope that she's still in this thing, and with Ohio still outstanding they've got be very hopeful. They're separated in Virginia by 23 votes. That is simply incredible.
Early tonight the President led by a over a few hundred votes, but that margin has shrunk, which is why the state is still in question.
What about Minnesota now? It is Michele Bachmann's home state?
It looks like Obama is still leading, and it is growing.
MN:
D: 1,785,201
R: 1,222,398
We can now give Minnesota to President Obama. With that state going to Obama we can now project that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has carried the battleground state of Ohio. Repeat, she has carried Ohio.
OH:
R: 49.7%
D: 48.3%
More to come...
