The 2012 election is quickly winding down, with Mitt Romney even conceding Florida today in the aftermath of losing Tuesday’s presidential election to Barack Obama. But amid the questions of what the election results mean for America’s future, and with the fiscal cliff looming on the horizon, another question remains unanswered.

What does Mitt Romney do next?

After spending essentially the last six years running for president and losing twice, it’s all but certain that Romney is done running for office. His future options are somewhat limited, compared to others who have run for president and lost. He doesn’t have a seat in the Senate to go back to, like John Kerry and John McCain did, nor does it seem likely he will become a standard bearer for an important issue like Al Gore did with global warming. Read 

In a night filled with other historic firsts for gay advocates, Wisconsin made some history of its own, by electing the first openly gay politician to the U.S. Senate.

Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who has served seven terms as a U.S. Representative, defeated her Republican opponent, former Gov. Tommy Thompson. It was a narrow victory, according to CNN, who projected her winning 51% of the vote.

It was something of a comeback victory for Baldwin, who was first seen as a long shot to win the Senate seat. It quickly turned into a battle, though, with the two sides spending an estimated $65 million in the most expensive Senate election in Wisconsin history. Baldwin replaces retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl. Read 

While history will focus on Barack Obama winning a second term as president, equally historic elections were taking place on state-level issues across the country.

For the first time, Maine and Maryland passed by popular vote referendums giving gays the right to marry. Minnesota voters also defeated a proposal to ban same-sex marriage, and a Washington state vote on legalizing gay marriage appeared to be on its way to victory, though it has not yet been officially certified.

Washington also made waves in another area of social policy yesterday, along with Colorado: both states legalized marijuana possession. In Washington, a system of state-licensed growers, processors, and stores will allow customers to buy up to an ounce of marijuana, while in Colorado, people will be allowed to grow up to six plans in private, secure areas. The Colorado referendum also decriminalizes possession of an ounce or less of marijuana. Read 

As political tools social media and the Internet came into their own yesterday.

With tens of millions of people communicating and sharing with each other via Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Twitter and other sites, information flowed between voters all day. Citizens shared about their plans to vote, they tweeted while they waited to vote, and most of all, they shared while the waited for the results of the vote.

Here are some of the notable events from the social media world yesterday: Read 

He might be the most powerful man on the planet — but as far as making bank, he’s strictly second-tier.

The president’s salary — which is set by Congress, and currently is $400,000 per year — doesn’t even move the needle compared to U.S. celebrities like, say, Oprah Winfrey, who made $165 million between May 2011 and May 2012.

The benefits are pretty good, though. The plane, the vacation home at Camp David, the expense account … not to mention it comes with a nice place to live and a short daily commute. Read 

Elephants never forget. Neither, it appears, do voters in Michigan and Ohio. While multiple storylines emerged from Barack Obama’s victory over Mitt Romney on Tuesday, the candidates’ radically different views on the auto industry bailout clearly made a difference in key Midwestern states.

Romney, who slavishly defended his 2008 idea to “let Detroit go bankrupt” in the final presidential debate and on the campaign trail, failed in his bid for the White House after his unpopular stance on the issue cost him his boyhood state of Michigan and the battleground state of Ohio.

Born in Detroit to an auto industry executive who eventually turned around the struggling American Motors Corp. and became governor of Michigan, Romney should have had an edge in the state. However, the rising fortunes of the Detroit Three — General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford (NYSE:F) and Chrysler (now a unit of Fiat SpA (PINK:FIATY) — dealt a crushing blow to Romney’s hopes. Read