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Today, 25 November 2009

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Yesterday, 24 November 2009

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John Kerry's camp was on Tuesday still "bullish" he would oust President George W. Bush, as he clung onto a key swing state and ran hard in other battlegrounds in the nerve-jangling US election.

Kerry watched returns roll in slowly from his home in Boston, surrounded by members of his family, as around 10 000 supporters waited for what they hoped would be a victory rally in the city's Copley Square.

On a tense night, Kerry learned had snared Pennsylvania. With its 21 electoral votes. the state was a key battleground, and one of Bush's top targets after it fell to defeated Democratic challenger Al Gore in 2000.

Senior Kerry strategist Joe Lockhart emerged to talk up Kerry's prospects in Florida and Ohio, despite rising Republican hopes that Bush was running better than expected in the two vital states.

On Ohio, Lockhart said "we are very bullish based on the turnout in the state, we had very positive turnout within the Democratic precincts in African-American communities".

In Florida, he predicted that a strong turnout in key counties Palm Beach and Broward would carry Kerry to victory in the state where a recount snafu besmirched the 2000 election.

Aides said the veteran senator conducted 38 satellite television interviews through Monday afternoon and early evening, hoping to woo any last undecided voters to back his run for the White House.

"I'm still asking Americans for their votes. I never leave any stone unturned," Kerry said in Boston before returning to his home to wait for results.

Kerry's vice presidential running mate Senator John Edwards reeled off 40 interviews of his own, in other crucial media markets.

Kerry retired to his home in the city, surrounded by his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry and other close family members to await Edwards, flying in from Florida, and to watch election results.

He wound up his exhausting near two-year campaign with a little superstition, going to the restaurant he has visited on every Election Day, eating a dozen little-necked clams, after casting his vote.

"I'm very confident that we made the case for change, the case for trust in a new leadership, a new direction, a fresh start," the Massachusetts senator said after voting with his two daughters, Alexandra and Vanessa.

Kerry joined Bush in expressing hope that there would be no legal challenges that would hold up the final result.

"I hope there aren't challenges. I hope America will vote according to the law today. That's what I want. I'm confident that's what the president wants."

The Massachusetts senator recounted his experience on the campaign trail since securing the Democratic nomination in March.

"When you go state-to-state and people — so many thousands of them — invest their hopes in you. People tell you their life stories. They share their troubles. They share their dreams. If you're not moved by that, you're missing something. And I'm deeply moved by it."

AFP