US voters queued for hours in record numbers yesterday at the end of a marathon and historic political race that resulted in Democrat Barack Obama being elected the country’s first black president.
A record number of voters turned out in an election that stood to change the political face of a nation burdened with its worst economic crisis in nearly 80 years and still fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The economy was by far the top issue on voters' minds.
An Associated Press exit poll found six in 10 across the United States named the economy as the most important issue facing the country. None of four other issues on the list - energy, Iraq, terror or health care - was chosen by more than one in 10.
An estimated 153 million voters were eligible, and in an indication of interest in the battle for the White House, about 40 million already had voted as election day dawned. Turnout was heavy. In Virginia, for example, officials
estimated nearly 75 per cent of eligible voters would cast ballots.
While the Iraq war dominated the campaign early in the year, it had long since faded as an issue as voters cast ballots.
The race was easily the costliest in history, in excess of $1 billion, more after the congressional campaigns were counted.
Figures through mid-October showed Mr Obama had spent roughly $240 million on television and radio advertisements.
Mr McCain had spent about $115 million and the Republican National Committee another $80 million on his behalf.