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Bush won re-election - White House chief of staff
Posted Wed, 03 Nov 2004
US President George W. Bush was to declare victory on Wednesday in his hard-fought election battle with Democratic rival John Kerry after winning by a "decisive margin," a senior White House aide said Wednesday.
"President Bush decided to give Senator Kerry the respect of more time to reflect on the results of this election. The president will be making a statement later today," said Chief of Staff Andy Card.
Speaking to Republican faithful at what had been planned as a victory party, Card dismissed Kerry's decision to contest results in vote-rich Ohio, insisting Bush had carried the state by a "statistically insurmountable" margin.
The Democratic senator has refused to bow out, pinning his hopes on what his campaign estimates at more than 200 000 uncounted provisional ballots in a state where Bush leads by about 136 000 votes.
"In Ohio, President Bush has a lead of at least 140 000 votes. The secretary of state's office has informed us that this margin is statistically insurmountable, even after the provisional ballots are considered," said Card.
Card said Bush would emerge the winner in Iowa and New Mexico, where ballot counting has been frozen due to technical glitches, adding up to 286 votes in the electoral college — 16 more than are needed to win.
Without Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico, Bush enjoyed a 254-242 edge over Kerry, and none of the US television networks had called the election for the incumbent.
Bush had gone to sleep just after 5am (0900 GMT) after watching early returns with his family and then huddling with top aides when Kerry refused to concede, muddying the outcome.
AFP
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