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Robert Siegel talks with Brian Naylor in Virginia, where the polls have closed.

Melissa Block talks with Don Gonyea as polls close in Ohio.

The battle for the Senate was a proving ground for the new Citizens United politics. Outside groups unleashed heavily funded barrages of attack ads meant to help elect candidates while letting them keep their distance from the nastiness. In Ohio and Virginia, the tactic failed in rather dramatic ways.

President Obama delivers his victory speech in Chicago after winning a second term.

Voters in North Carolina put a Republican in their governor's office for the first time in two decades, and New Hampshire elected a new female Democratic governor. But the closely watched races in Montana and Washington, where Democrats currently serve as governors, remained too close to call.

Obama has become only the third U.S. president to win re-election by a narrower margin than his first victory. Having won a second term, Obama will seek to set the nation's agenda on issues ranging from taxes to immigration, but he may continue to struggle in selling his ideas to Congress.

For better or worse, the financial markets face a little less uncertainty — investors know who's going to be president for the next four years. Steve Inskeep talks to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about what the outcome of the presidential election means for the economy and financial markets.

The U.S. Senate is also expected to break a record: At least 19 female senators will serve this term — the most in history.

Concerned that the White House and Congress won't be able to agree on how to avoid deep spending cuts and tax increases, many investors sold stocks.

Host Michel Martin has been checking in with two former speechwriters throughout the election season to sort through the rhetoric, and find out what messages struck a chord with voters. She reviews campaign messaging, and Tuesday night's victory and concession speeches with former presidential speechwriters Mary Kate Cary and Paul Orzulak.