Obama wins presidency

On Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) made history as he was elected the 44th president - and first black commander-in-chief - of the United States with 349 electoral votes and 64,246,857 popular votes (53 percent), according to CNN. Obama's opponents, presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and vice presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin (R-Alaska), received 163 electoral votes and 56,634,776 popular votes (46 percent).

Votes are still being counted in several states, but Obama and his vice presidential candidate, Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), are certain victors. The President-elect, 47, gave a victory speech to over 100,000 supporters in Chicago's Grant Park after he officially won the election just after 11 p.m. "Change has come to America," Obama told the Chicago crowd.

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Photo: President-elect Obama addressed his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park following his victory on Tuesday night. Picture courtesy of Washington Post.

President-elect Obama addressed his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park following his victory on Tuesday night. Picture courtesy of Washington Post.

Obama won in several traditionally Republican states, including a crucial victory in Virginia, a state that has voted Republican in every presidential election since Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 candidacy. In the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Indiana, Obama also pulled out slim victories to take an early lead over McCain on his way to surpassing the necessary 270 electoral votes.

In the Senate, Democrats gained 17 seats for a majority of 56 to the Republicans' 40. Four remain undecided. Similarly, Democrats won 254 seats in the House of Representatives, as Republicans obtained 173, with eight seats remaining undecided.

In Montgomery County, Obama and his vice presidential candidate, Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), won 271,843 popular votes (71 percent), according to the Maryland State Board of Elections (MSBE). Fourth district Congresswoman Donna Edwards was re-elected in another landslide victory, receiving 70.7 percent of the vote. Maryland Questions One, allowing voters to cast ballots up to two weeks before the election, and Two, legalizing slot machines to fund Maryland education, both passed convincingly, and over 60 percent of Maryland voters voted for Obama.

Over 133.3 million people (62.5 percent of eligible voters) voted nationwide, according to USA Today. In Montgomery County, 81 percent of registered voters cast ballots, the MSBE reported. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, voting participation rose six percent from the 2004 election. ''More young people voted than in any election since 18-year-olds won the right to vote in 1972,'' Heather Smith, Rock the Vote Executive Director, said.

In Maryland, over two million voters waited in lines - some for several hours - to vote. "The voters were able to get through the process with relative ease," Maryland Deputy Elections Chief Ross Goldstein told the Washington Post.