AP PHOTOS: A look at the 2012 campaign

President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney dueled for the White House on Tuesday, the tight-to-the-finish climax of an election persistently shadowed by a weak national economy and high unemployment that crimped middle class dreams for millions.

Expressing confidence but leaving nothing to chance, Obama indulged his superstitions by engaging in a traditional Election Day basketball game with friends as the race that will determine his political future was finally in the hands of voters.

Romney’s yearslong quest for the presidency is ending with a last-minute round of campaigning in one state he’s showered with attention and another he’s largely ignored, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

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From events in the driving rain to days of blistering heat, Associated Press photographers have been with the candidates through it all. Here’s a look back at the campaign in photos.

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