ABSTRACT
The outcome of every election is the product of short-term and long-term events. While much of the outcome of the 2012 presidential race was shaped by structural or long-term factors over which the candidates had relatively little control, short-term factors, including unanticipated events, invariably intervene. And in a close contest, of which 2012 was one, and where 94 percent of the electorate had already decided how to vote eleven months before election day, such hot-button moments can critically alter the outcome. This chapter examines some of these events, including timely issues and strategic campaign decisions, to explain their impact and consequences for the race. During the week before election day, electioneering was put on hold for several days-days most directly needed by challenger Mitt Romney to overcome what seemed to be a small but persistent gap between him and Barack Obama. Romney's campaign was mistake-laden. Aside from his poor performance in the first debate, Obama largely avoided missteps.
