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That is good news indeed.
Let's move on!
Per ABC News, the concession will occur at 1 PM EST
That is good news indeed.
Let's move on!
Sen. John Kerry has caleds President Bush to concede presidential election, CNN has learned. Details soon.
AP: Kerry Calls Bush to Concede
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
By Liza Porteus
Sen. John Kerry (search) has called President Bush (search) to concede the 2004 race for the White House, The Associated Press has reported.
News of the phone call came at 11:10 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Earlier in the morning, the Bush campaign declared victory, despite claims by Kerry's campaign that the fight is not yet over in Ohio.
"I want to thank all of you for staying up so late with us, and good morning," White House Chief of Staff Andy Card told haggard supporters at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, speaking at 5:45 a.m. EST. "We are convinced that President Bush has won re-election with at least 286 Electoral College votes."
Although Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico had not yet made their results officials, Card said the GOP camp was counting those states in its column. Card also declared victory in Ohio, despite claims by Kerry's campaign that the fight is not yet over in The Buckeye State.
"This all adds up to a convincing victory," Card said. "President Bush decided to give Senator Kerry the respect of more time to reflect on the results of this election."
Bush will make statement "later today," Card added.
Democrats insisted Kerry was still in contention for Ohio's decisive cache of 20 electoral votes. At issue were the more than 100,000 provisional ballots that still had to be counted.
Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has released provisional vote numbers for 78 of Ohio's 88 counties, showing a total of 135,149 provisional ballots, according to Blackwell's Web site. It appeared that the difference in the number of votes for the two candidates was greater than the number of outstanding ballots.
Disheartened Kerry aides met to evaluate his options, with concession the talk of the campaign.
Nothing was settled or conceded in the first light of day, but Kerry faced a daunting task trying to deny Bush an electoral majority that was almost within reach. The Democrat's campaign planned a statement by midday, advisers said.
Bush himself planned to declare victory before long. Republican Party Chairman Marc Racicot said the president put it off temporarily as a courtesy to Kerry, "to allow the opportunity to look at the situation in the cold hard light of day."
Before both sides retired for an hour or two of sleep, one top Kerry adviser said the Democrat's chances of winning Ohio, and with it the White House, were difficult at best. Advisers planned one last look for uncounted ballots that might close the gap before meeting with the candidate Wednesday to determine whether he should concede or fight on.
Kerry's team met first thing Wednesday and planned at least one other session before taking their recommendation to the senator, said several officials involved in the deliberations.
One senior Democrat familiar with the discussions said Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards (search), was suggesting to Kerry that he shouldn't concede.
The official said Edwards, a trial lawyer, wanted to make sure that all options were explored and Democrats pursued them as thoroughly as Republicans would if the positions were reversed.
Polls closed Tuesday night in all 50 states and the nation's capital in a race that was called one of the most hotly contested in American history. Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada and Wisconsin were too close to call at 6 a.m. EST on Wednesday. As of that time, Bush had 269 electoral votes; Kerry had 242. The victor needs 270 to win. An electoral tie would throw the race to the GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives to decide.
Bush won Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, FOX News projects.
Kerry won California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, FOX News projects.
So far, New Hampshire is the only state to switch parties from the 2000 election outcome.
If Nevada and New Mexico had been called for the president, it was expected that Bush would have spoken Wednesday morning, but as dawn neared, the president went to bed. Vice President Cheney also called it a night before daybreak, saying he wanted to sleep and eat some breakfast before starting the new day.
Around 4 a.m. EST Wednesday, New Mexico's secretary of state and election staff went home for the night. They were to resume ballot counting around 9 a.m. Before they left, they said thousands of absentee ballots have to be examined by hand, not to mention the many provisional ballots which they will go through regardless of the outcome.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie said the Election Day results show the country is not as divided as suspected.
"I think we saw obviously tonight a decisive win in the popular vote. I suspect that when everybody wakes up tomorrow, the Republicans will have 55 seats in the United States Senate as a result of the president's strong push across the country, and we will gain seats in the House of Representatives as well. So, I'm not sure the country is as closely divided as is made out to be," Gillespie said around 3:30 a.m. EST. "It looks to me a very decisive win today."
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