My Home State, Assessment Example

1. Look at my home state (HAWAII) census track and see who it is that won the elections and provide demographics.

Most know Barack Obama won reelection by a tight margin, but in the state of Hawaii for this past election of 2012 he won 70.6% of Hawaii’s votes compared to Romney’s 27.8% and the 1.6% earned by alternative candidates and their respective parties. As source exit polling data confirms Barack Obama had a similar respective turnout of black voters in this election but more voters showed up at the polls. The exit polls also show that Obama had an increase in the percentage of Hispanic voters he had vote for him (Andrews, Wilson, Bartz & Tumgorn).

2. On the map, locate key states and census track or voting patterns. Locate swing states and follow them to see results.

North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Colorado and Iowa, were all key swing, or battleground, states. Ohio was identified in the media as the main swing state that would decide the Presidency. States ultimately provided the Electoral College votes necessary for Obama to win. Out of all of the key battleground states Mitt Romney only won North Carolina. Some of the voting patterns noted Barack Obama was favored among adult educated white women, and this was largely attributed to the current Republican views on contraception.

3. See if anyone (sources) mentioned or remarked on what the marketing strategy or the reasons why the wining party won. Explain.

In a recent C-Span interview with the Chief strategists of the McCain campaign and an advisor Obama recently spoke on the methods of marketing utilized by the candidates. David Plouffe talks about how in 2008 Obama teamed up with some of the head engineers to setup a social network marketing campaign that could target his exact constituency. Erik of Forbes magazine argues that the Obama campaign implemented some of these effective tactics in 2012. He says, “The tables may have finally turned, as the Obama team assembled a team of top-notch technical talent and developed one of the most sophisticated data-driven marketing campaigns the world has ever seen (Erik).” He goes on to point out how in this 2012 election, the Obama team reached out to their supporters early and often, and made it a priority to reactivate dormant supporters from 2008, and worked to get them to vote early (Erik).

4. What are other TV or radio stations in other countries are saying about the election.
   

In regards to Obama’s win, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, “I think Obama is a man eminently capable of building bridges between the Democrats and Republicans (The Associated Press).” Another great statement about the President, Nelson Mandella’s daughter was quoted saying in regards to the Obama, “”As a mother and as a grandmother who raises boy children, I think that the symbolism of having a black man occupy the highest office is something that can make my children very aspirational to know that this is possible, you know, in their lifetime.” — Zindzi Mandela, daughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela (The Associated Press).”  Despite much of the conflict and resentment that clearly

5. Summary of your idea about the whole election after analysis.

I think this election was very telling about the future of the Republican Party in American politics. Mitt Romney achieved 60% of the white vote and still lost. Many news analyst noted that there was only one other candidate in history ho achieved more than 60% of the white vote and he won. Other anchors used this election as proof that America is becoming a “minority majority nation.” This means that the cultural groups other than white, make up a larger number in the American population. What I did find confusing was the large number of people who were surprised by Obama’s victory. President Barack Obama on numerous gallop polls was said to be falling behind Mitt Romney. Virtually every ad about Barack Obama mentioned the economy and how bad it was, despite the unemployment rate decreasing. All of these factors pointed to a possible Mitt Romney victory, so when he lost it wasn’t a major surprise because most expected the winner to win in by 1%. The surprise was that Mitt Romney didn’t come close at all. He didn’t win nearly enough battle ground states to claim the presidency.

Work Cited  

Andrews, Wilson, Jason Bartz, and Serdar Tumgoren. “The Washington Post.”Washington Post. (2012): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/election-map-2012/president/>.

Erik, . “Forbes.” Forbes. (2012): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2012/11/19/3-lessons-for-marketers-from-the-2012-elections/>.

Kuehner-Hebert, K. “Target Marketing.” Target Marketing. (2012): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/election-2012-barack-obama-mitt-romney-microtargeting-retargeting-mobile-marketing-social-media-voter-databases/2>.

The Associated Press. “The Huffington Post.” Huffington Post. (2012): n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/world-reaction-to-2012-el_n_2087153.html>.