8. Hurricane Sandy

No one predicted that just before Election Day, a heretofore-unknown name would end up affecting the outcome of the election, but apparently a hurricane-turned-superstorm by the name of Sandy did just that. A number of disappointed Republicans blamed the storm for Romney's defeat, and according to exit polls, they had good reason to.

According to Fox News, 4 out of 10 voters based their vote in part on the government response to Hurricane Sandy, and those voters overwhelmingly supported the president. His response drew praise from Christie and secured the endorsement of Republican-turned-independent Mayor Bloomberg. It probably didn't help matters that  during a presidential-primary debate, Romney had hinted at eliminating the disaster-relief Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Keli Goff is The Root's special correspondent. Follow her on Twitter.

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