First Place
Andrew Harnik The Washington Times
Republican Primary: Republican presidential candidates campaign through the first two battle ground states, Iowa and South Carolina to win support to become the Republican nominee for president.
Second Place
[RoyalSlider Error] Incorrect RoyalSlider ID or problem with query.
Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
The Final Campaign: It was the president’s last lap. Win or lose, it was going to be Barack Obama’s final political campaign. The race for his second term in the White House, and the political future of the country, were on the line. With a war chest of over $1 billion to spend, Obama hit the trail. The crowds were energized and emotional, even if they were a little smaller than in 2008. However, his smile and eloquence were still working their magic on supporters from coast to coast. In the end Obama beat the odds: with unemployment hovering near 8-percent and the economy still stuck in the fiscal doldrums, he was able to beat his opponent in the Electoral College and the popular vote by a wide margin. It was a big win and his last victory.
Third Place
Andrew Harnik, The Washington Times
Ethics: Washington, D.C. city government has had a long history of corruption and mismanagement through the past 30 years ever since congress granted its citizens the power to elect their own mayor and city council. This year has been no exception with Washington Mayor Vincent Gray in hot water with federal investigators looking into questionable election practices by his campaign, while at the same time, the city’s council Chairman Kwame Brown was forced to resign after being charged with one felony count of bank fraud, leaving the city and its leadership looking for a new direction.
Award of Excellence
Brooks Kraft, freelance for TIME
President Obama’s Final Campaign: President Barack Obama’s final campaign culminated in a bone weary non-stop week long trip across the country, with large rallies in battleground states. The focus was on winning and making the case, but at times Obama appeared nostalgic as well. The President ended with a final rally in Des Moines where his 2008 campaign began, before heading to Chicago for an election night celebration.
Award of Excellence
Jewel Samad, Agence France-Presse
Obama Campaign: Images from the campaign trail during President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
Award of Excellence
Melina Mara, The Washington Post
Mitt Romney for President: A Businessman, A Politician, A Mormon, and Always A Devoted Family Man: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, has been running for the presidency for more than six years. Loosing the 2008 Republican primary to Sen. John McCain seem to propel Romney, and his wife, Ann, to try again for the ‘brass ring’, working even harder to win the ultimate prize in 2012. But the devoted couple, giving all they had to win and rarely leaving each other’s side, lost in the end. Nevertheless, Romney always has faith and family to fall back on.
Award of Excellence
Saul Loeb, Agence France-Presse
Duel at the Debates: It all comes down to this – candidate to candidate, one on one. No notes, no teleprompters. Just ninety minutes at four locations all across the country for the candidates and their running mates to prove to the American people who will be best to tackle the nation’s challenges over the next 4 years.