Countless news and press organizations reported live from the watch party, which featured ABC’s minute-by-minute coverage of the election projected along the outer wall of the USF Bookstore. BBC Radio held an open discussion panel with students during the coverage, broadcasting live overseas.

Student attendance and interest in the watch party surpassed organizer predictions, according to student body vice president George Papadeas.

“This absolutely exceeded our expectations and we are so happy that students get to come out here and share their political beliefs with each other,” Papadeas said. “To have these politically active students, not only in Hillsborough County, but at USF, is amazing.”

“For political activists on campus and political events on campus, this just establishes even more that students are politically active at USF and that we can have events like this now and way into the future,” Papadeas added.

After a close and lengthy campaign, President Barack Obama overcame opponent and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney through both popular and electoral college votes.

The election also saw the Democratic Party pull through with a Senate majority (Florida incumbent Senator Bill Nelson defeated challenger and House representative Connie Mack in an early-announced victory), while the Republican Party retained House majority.

The watch party, sponsored by USF Student Government, Omega Phi Beta, Delta Sigma Theta and the NAACP, ran from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m.