Pondadat
November 3, 2004, 10:43 AM
Bush wins popular vote in electoral nail-biter; Kerry weighing concession
Updated at 10:08 on November 3, 2004, EST.
President Bush supporters wave flags during an election rally early
Wednesday, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON (CP) - President George W. Bush inched closer to a second term on Wednesday as aides to Democratic challenger John Kerry considered conceding the state of Ohio after an election cliffhanger that ultimately showed Americans were wary of dumping their war-time incumbent.
More Americans cast their ballots for Bush this time around than they did four years ago as he picked up 51 per cent of the popular vote. He also held a 136,000-vote lead in the crucial and deciding state of Ohio - and chances grew slimmer on Wednesday that the Democrats could overturn that lead even after provisional ballots are counted in 11 days.
Kerry aides were meeting and a statement was planned by midday. Two of them said his concession seemed simply a matter of time.
The Republicans were confident.
"We are convinced that President Bush has won re-election," said White House chief of staff Andy Card.
Bush himself was to declare victory and had only put it off as a courtesy to Kerry "to allow the opportunity to look at the situation in the cold hard light of day," said Republican Party chairman Marc Racicot.
The electoral college map looked much like it did before the election; the question mark had simply moved from the state of Ohio from Florida but little else had changed.
Bush won Florida again this time, by a wider margin than in 2000. But his efforts to wrest Pennsylvania from the Democratic column fell short, and Kerry picked up New Hampshire in perhaps the election's only turnover.
In Ohio, Kerry won among young adults, but lost in every other age group. One-fourth of Ohio voters identified themselves as born-again Christians and they backed Bush by a 3-to-1 margin.
A sideline issue in the national presidential campaign, gay civil unions may have been a sleeper that hurt Kerry - who strongly supports that right - in Ohio and elsewhere. Ohio residents expanded their law banning gay marriage, already considered the toughest in the country, with an even broader constitutional amendment against civil unions.
After winning Nevada in the wee hours Wednesday, Bush had 254 electoral votes without counting Ohio's 20, which would put him four votes over the 270 required for a second term. Kerry stalled at 252 electoral votes after narrowly winning Wisconsin.
The number of each state's electoral votes is determined by its population.
With Republican wins in the House of Representatives and the Senate, it was a banner night for conservatives who favour huge tax cuts and a social agenda that outlaws same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
A large number of Americans voted after a bruising, bare-knuckle campaign focused on the Iraq war, terrorist threats and lost jobs. About 120 million cast ballots, just under 60 per cent of eligible voters - the highest since 1968.
But the big numbers didn't translate into the votes for Kerry that analysts predicted, and instead may have actually benefitted Bush, who fought to avoid the fate that befell his father 12 years ago - that of a one-term president.
Long lines at voting stations indicated that the fractious eight-month campaign, marked by scare tactics, negative TV ads, misleading claims and vicious personal attacks, engaged Americans like no other race in recent history.
National and state polls long suggested Bush and Kerry were in a dead heat, with independent candidate Ralph Nader getting about one per cent of the vote.
Voters were divided sharply along age, gender, religious and racial lines, according to national exit polls.
Bush was favoured among white men, voters with family incomes over $100,000 US and evangelical Christians who view him as a messenger from God in a titanic fight to quell terrorism and spread liberty around the world, while Kerry was the overwhelming favourite of black voters, Hispanics, union households and was supported by many younger voters.
One in 10 voters were casting ballots for the first time and fewer than 10 per cent were young voters - hardly the flood that experts had predicted.
Bush, facing heavy U.S. casualties in Iraq and a sluggish economy that's resulted in more jobs lost than created during his tenure, based his campaign on who best can protect the country from terrorists. He traded heavily on his determined leadership after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - a platform that drew fire from some that he exploited the worst fears of Americans.
Interestingly, voters in the states that were hit on Sept. 11 - the District of Columbia, New York and Pennsylvania - lined up solidly behind Kerry.
The Canadian Press, 2004
Updated at 10:08 on November 3, 2004, EST.
President Bush supporters wave flags during an election rally early
Wednesday, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON (CP) - President George W. Bush inched closer to a second term on Wednesday as aides to Democratic challenger John Kerry considered conceding the state of Ohio after an election cliffhanger that ultimately showed Americans were wary of dumping their war-time incumbent.
More Americans cast their ballots for Bush this time around than they did four years ago as he picked up 51 per cent of the popular vote. He also held a 136,000-vote lead in the crucial and deciding state of Ohio - and chances grew slimmer on Wednesday that the Democrats could overturn that lead even after provisional ballots are counted in 11 days.
Kerry aides were meeting and a statement was planned by midday. Two of them said his concession seemed simply a matter of time.
The Republicans were confident.
"We are convinced that President Bush has won re-election," said White House chief of staff Andy Card.
Bush himself was to declare victory and had only put it off as a courtesy to Kerry "to allow the opportunity to look at the situation in the cold hard light of day," said Republican Party chairman Marc Racicot.
The electoral college map looked much like it did before the election; the question mark had simply moved from the state of Ohio from Florida but little else had changed.
Bush won Florida again this time, by a wider margin than in 2000. But his efforts to wrest Pennsylvania from the Democratic column fell short, and Kerry picked up New Hampshire in perhaps the election's only turnover.
In Ohio, Kerry won among young adults, but lost in every other age group. One-fourth of Ohio voters identified themselves as born-again Christians and they backed Bush by a 3-to-1 margin.
A sideline issue in the national presidential campaign, gay civil unions may have been a sleeper that hurt Kerry - who strongly supports that right - in Ohio and elsewhere. Ohio residents expanded their law banning gay marriage, already considered the toughest in the country, with an even broader constitutional amendment against civil unions.
After winning Nevada in the wee hours Wednesday, Bush had 254 electoral votes without counting Ohio's 20, which would put him four votes over the 270 required for a second term. Kerry stalled at 252 electoral votes after narrowly winning Wisconsin.
The number of each state's electoral votes is determined by its population.
With Republican wins in the House of Representatives and the Senate, it was a banner night for conservatives who favour huge tax cuts and a social agenda that outlaws same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
A large number of Americans voted after a bruising, bare-knuckle campaign focused on the Iraq war, terrorist threats and lost jobs. About 120 million cast ballots, just under 60 per cent of eligible voters - the highest since 1968.
But the big numbers didn't translate into the votes for Kerry that analysts predicted, and instead may have actually benefitted Bush, who fought to avoid the fate that befell his father 12 years ago - that of a one-term president.
Long lines at voting stations indicated that the fractious eight-month campaign, marked by scare tactics, negative TV ads, misleading claims and vicious personal attacks, engaged Americans like no other race in recent history.
National and state polls long suggested Bush and Kerry were in a dead heat, with independent candidate Ralph Nader getting about one per cent of the vote.
Voters were divided sharply along age, gender, religious and racial lines, according to national exit polls.
Bush was favoured among white men, voters with family incomes over $100,000 US and evangelical Christians who view him as a messenger from God in a titanic fight to quell terrorism and spread liberty around the world, while Kerry was the overwhelming favourite of black voters, Hispanics, union households and was supported by many younger voters.
One in 10 voters were casting ballots for the first time and fewer than 10 per cent were young voters - hardly the flood that experts had predicted.
Bush, facing heavy U.S. casualties in Iraq and a sluggish economy that's resulted in more jobs lost than created during his tenure, based his campaign on who best can protect the country from terrorists. He traded heavily on his determined leadership after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - a platform that drew fire from some that he exploited the worst fears of Americans.
Interestingly, voters in the states that were hit on Sept. 11 - the District of Columbia, New York and Pennsylvania - lined up solidly behind Kerry.
The Canadian Press, 2004