Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry conceded the election to President George Bush earlier this morning.
It was clear last night that Bush had won the popular vote, but Kerry's campaign refused to concede Ohio, the state whose electoral votes the election hinged upon.
The Democratic challenger’s campaign estimated that nearly a quarter million provisional ballots remain to be counted in Ohio, enough to overcome the 120,000 vote deficit Kerry faces. There was also a possibility that reported campaign irregularities might provide Kerry with an opening to win the election in court, an option he declined to take.
Last night around 2 a.m. ET, Kerry’s running mate John Edwards announced that the election was not over, “we are keeping our word and we will fight for every vote. You deserve no less.”
Earlier this morning Bush’s campaign claimed that the Ohio Secretary of State informed them that their lead in Ohio was “statistically insurmountable,” even in light of the provisional votes.
Ohio wasn’t the only state with contested electoral votes; both Iowa and New Mexico were still undecided last night as well. But Ohio would have put either candidate over the necessary 270 electoral vote threshold required to win the election.
Technically speaking, Americans don’t vote for candidates, they vote for electors who in turn vote for a candidate.
Exit polls show that “moral values” were considered the top concern of voters.
Republicans also maintained their control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, winning seats in both parts of Congress.
