President Obama ended up crushing Mitt Romney in the Electoral College vote, soaring above 300 electoral votes when he needed just 270 for re-election.
But the popular vote was insanely close.
With 75 percent of precincts reporting, Obama held a razor-thin lead:
Obama 49,596,414
Romney 49,557,024
Just before that, with 73 percent reporting, Romney actually held a lead in the popular vote.
Obama ended the night with 332 electoral votes to Romney’s 206. But the popular vote was shaking out like this as final counts were made:
Obama 58,699,931
Romney 56,453,562
As Romney delayed the president’s victory speech by delaying his concession, the closeness of the popular vote may have factored into his camp’s decision to delay the inevitable.