WASHINGTON, DC, USA (AFP) — Chanting “Four more years!” and “USA, USA!,” a crowd of several thousand well-wishers danced and waved flags outside the White House late Tuesday after Barack Obama was swept back into office.

Crowds braved the chilly autumn weather as they rushed towards the president’s official residence, whooping and crying out “Obama, Obama!,” and giving high-fives to complete strangers.

Union activist Nicole Arow, 28, said she was “thrilled and relieved” to learn about the Democratic incumbent’s victory over Republican rival Mitt Romney, adding: “Joy. That’s what I feel.”

Downtown Washington, usually deserted at midnight on a weekday, was teeming with cars, drivers honking their horns in celebration and waving US flags out the windows.

Obama became only the second Democrat to win a second four-year White House term since World War II.

Those who arrived at the White House shortly after US television networks called the race for Obama appeared to be mainly college students, but the party quickly grew to include middle-aged people and parents with young children.

Hope Cordova, 46, was one of the few who remembered to bring a campaign sign — in her case, a plastic blue-and-white Obama-Biden 2012 yard sign.

“It takes more than four years to turn the country around. We want to give him four more years to complete his job,” said Cordova, 46, a California real estate agent who was visiting a Washington-based friend.