Bush wins election, Republicans hold Congress

He carried at least 31 states, mostly in the nation’s conservative heartland and in the South. Gore dominated most of the big industrial states, winning New York and California.

Bush, 54, will succeed President Bill Clinton next January 20. He will enter the highest office in the land eight years after his father, former President George Bush, left office. He becomes the first presidential son since John Quincy Adams in 1825 to follow his father’s footsteps into the White House.

Seen as genial and likable but relatively untested after only six years in politics and with no experience in foreign affairs, Bush will enter office without a firm mandate, having won the popular vote by a scant 49 per cent to 48 per cent.

But he will be the first Republican President since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953-55 to rule while his party also controls both Houses of Congress.

Republicans were projected to hold on to a narrow majority in the Senate, although Democrats were gaining seats. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton gave Democrats something to cheer, making history by winning a seat to represent New York in the Senate.

The late Democratic Governor of Missouri, Mel Carnahan, who died in a plane crash three weeks ago, also made history of a kind as the first dead man to win election to the Senate. The state’s acting governor said he would appoint Carnahan’s widow to fill his seat although Republicans were expected to challenge the results.

In the House of Representatives, where Democrats had needed to gain seven House seats to recapture control, television networks projected they would fall short.

In the presidential election, the Electoral College tally was 271 for Bush and 249 for Gore with Oregon and Wisconsin still outstanding. Two hundred and seventy votes are needed to be elected president.

Asked before his victory was confirmed whether he could claim a mandate if he won an election with such a narrow margin, Bush said: "We’ll talk about that tomorrow, should I prevail. It goes to show how powerful my message was, because I’m running against an incumbent who’s got a pretty good economy behind him. It required a very strong message."

Gore seemed to have grabbed the momentum when TV networks projected him the winner Florida, based on exit poll data.

Then, dramatically, as actual results flowed from Florida precincts, most networks reversed their projection, said the state was too close to call, and threw the race into disarray once again. The networks blamed their mistake on "suspect data."

Even as pundits were beginning to write his political obituary, Bush refused to give up. "I know you had all those projections, but people are still counting the votes," he told reporters, refusing to concede Florida.

Gore carried five of the eight most populous states. But Bush racked up win after winning the Prairie heartland and the South.

Small States have big importance

Even small states with few votes took on major importance in the closest Electoral College race in decades, even closer than the 1960 election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon which Kennedy won 303-219.

The winner of the election is determined not by who receives the most popular votes but by who wins a majority of the Electoral College votes, which are almost all acquired on a state-by-state, winner-take-all basis.

Clinton made history by being the first President’s wife to be elected to office, ensuring at least part of her husband’s legacy would be preserved.

"I am determined to make a difference for all of you," Clinton said, with her husband standing by her side.

Despite Clinton’s win, Democrats stalled in their drive toward picking up the five seats needed to win control of the Senate, capturing four seats while giving up two.

As polls closed in more and more states, both candidates scored successes in their strongest regions. Bush racked up wins in the conservative South while Gore recorded victories in the more liberal North-East and parts of the Mid-West.

Exit polls showed a huge gender gap with men backing Bush by more than 10 points and women backing Gore by a similar margin.

The two candidates were following the results in their home bases in Texas and Tennessee.

Arriving at an Austin restaurant for a traditional election night dinner with his parents, his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and other family members, Bush was asked what he thought of early results showing him winning Indiana, Kentucky and New Hampshire.

"I think we’re doing fine," he said. He later retired to the governor’s mansion to watch the returns in private.

Gore voted at Forks River School and delivered a brief seminar on democracy to a class of small children, slipping naturally into his accustomed school-teacher tone.