posted November 03, 2004 12:37 PM              

Kerry calls Bush to concede
Bush to deliver victory speech Wednesday afternoon

(CNN) -- Democratic Sen. John Kerry phoned President Bush on Wednesday to concede the presidential election, aides in both camps said.

President Bush was to deliver a victory statement at 3 p.m. ET, Bush aides said. Sen. Kerry's aides said he was expected to make a concession speech at 1 p.m. ET at Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

A Kerry adviser said the campaign had concluded that the too-close-to-call battleground state of Ohio was not going to come through for the Democrats.

The adviser said there was no way to gain votes on Bush without an "exhaustive fight," something that would have "further divided this country."

Kerry called Bush at his Oval Office desk about 11:02 a.m. ET, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. During the brief conversation, Bush told the senator he was "an admirable, worthy opponent."

"You waged one tough campaign," McClellan quoted the president as saying. "I hope you are proud of the effort you put in. You should be."

Kerry's phone call came a few hours after White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card announced that the Bush campaign was convinced the president had won re-election.

"President Bush decided to give the respect of more time to reflect on the results of this election," Card told GOP supporters at the Reagan Federal Building and International Trade Center in Washington.

"We are convinced that President Bush has won re-election with at least 286 electoral votes," Card said. (Transcript of Card's comments)

Ahead in the popular vote by more than 3.7 million votes, the president moved tantalizingly close to winning an Electoral College majority with a lead in the key battleground state of Ohio, though the Buckeye State remained too close for CNN to call. (Electoral College)

"President Bush's decisive margin of victory makes this the first presidential election since 1988 in which the winner received a majority of the popular vote," said Card, referring to the White House victory by Bush's father, President George H.W. Bush. "And in this election, President Bush received more votes than any presidential candidate in our country's history."

So far, Bush is projected to have won 28 states, with 254 electoral votes, and a win in Ohio would assure him of at least 274 votes, more than the 270 he needs for a majority Electoral College. (Small inroads make difference for Bush)

Kerry has a projected 252 electoral votes.

A top adviser for Kerry had said Wednesday morning the campaign would determine its plan of action after looking at the "real numbers" in Ohio. The adviser said the Kerry team "won't make this a mystery too long."

Sen. John Edwards told a crowd early Wednesday at Copley Square in Boston, Massachusetts: "We will fight for every vote. You deserve no less."

Card claimed an important psychological victory in the nation's popular vote and said that in addition to Ohio the campaign was putting Iowa and New Mexico in the "winner's column as well." (CNN has no projection yet for Iowa and New Mexico.)

Bush leads in Ohio by more than 136,000 votes, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to CNN data.

Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell issued orders for counties by 2 p.m. Wednesday to report total numbers of provisional ballots. Counting of those ballots will not begin until Thursday, according to Blackwell's directive.

It is not clear how long the ballot-counting will take. Initially, Blackwell said the counting of provisional and absentee ballots would not begin for 11 days.

He said he could not immediately put an estimate on the number of those ballots but said 250,000 might not be out of the realm of possibility.

While he said the exact number of provisional ballots was unknown, he said it is "trending toward 175,000."

Blackwell suggested that "everybody just take a deep breath and relax."

In another key battleground state, Kerry is projected the winner in Wisconsin.

Iowa election officials blamed broken machines, a delay in opening absentee ballots and apparent fatigue for delaying the secretary of state's report of a final count until some time Wednesday.

New Mexico is too close to call and will not release presidential election results until later Wednesday because thousands of absentee ballots remain uncounted, according to a spokesman for the secretary of state.

The key turning point in Tuesday's election came when Bush carried Florida, which the president won four years ago by just 537 votes after a lengthy dispute. This time around, though, there was no question who won the Sunshine State, where Bush's margin was more than 370,000 votes. (Special Report: America Votes 2004)

Few states switched from the party of four years ago. New Hampshire, which Bush narrowly won in 2000, went for Kerry. Bush has so far carried no state carried by Democrat Al Gore four years ago, although he leads in two, Iowa and New Mexico.

GOP projected to keep control of Congress
Republicans are projected to retain control of the House and Senate, adding to their majorities in both chambers with strong showings in Southern states. (Senate, House)

In South Dakota, former GOP Rep. John Thune claimed victory over the Senate's top Democrat, Minority Leader Tom Daschle.

GOP candidates are projected to win open Democratic seats in four Southern states and were ahead in a fifth, Florida. The party also is projected to keep vulnerable Republican seats in Oklahoma and Kentucky and to lead in a third, Alaska.

The only GOP setbacks were projected in Illinois, where rising Democratic star Barack Obama took the seat vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, and in Colorado, where Democratic Attorney General Ken Salazar is projected to beat beer magnate Pete Coors in the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. (Senate)

Those results, coupled with the projected Daschle loss in South Dakota, would give the Republicans a net gain of four seats, making the lineup in the new Senate 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and one independent.

Daschle could be the first Senate party leader to lose his seat in 52 years.

In the battle for the 435 House seats, Republicans are projected to retain their majority, winning 230 seats -- a net gain of at least four seats. CNN projects Democrats with 202 seats and one independent. (House)

Two more seats will be decided in a Louisiana runoff in December.

GOP candidates are projected to pick up six Democratic seats -- five in Texas, where a controversial redistricting plan pushed by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay redrew the state's map to make it more Republican-friendly.

In addition, two other veteran Texas Democrats forced by the new map to run against Republican incumbents -- Reps. Charles Stenholm and Martin Frost -- also are projected to lose.

Democrats are projected to take a Republican seat in Illinois, where Melissa Bean defeated veteran GOP Rep. Phil Crane.

If projections hold, it will be the sixth consecutive election in which the GOP has held the majority.

Of the 11 gubernatorial races, close contests are expected in Missouri, New Hampshire and Washington.

In Indiana, CNN is projecting a big win for former Bush administration official Mitch Daniels over Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan.

Ballot measures
Six months after gay and lesbian couples won the right to marry in Massachusetts, opponents of same-sex marriage struck back Tuesday, with voters in 11 states projected to approve constitutional amendments codifying marriage as exclusively being between a man and a woman.

California voters, who faced 16 statewide ballot measures, are projected to pass a measure to establish a constitutional right to conduct research using stem cells and to authorize $3 billion for such research.

A ballot measure approving the use of marijuana for medical reasons is projected to pass in Montana.

Colorado voters are projected to reject a proposal to change its winner-take-all to allocated electoral votes for presidential candidates.

A Florida measure to require parental notification before minors can obtain an abortion is projected to passed.

Gambling is another hot ballot issue, with six states deciding 13 measures.