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No recount needed: Bush wins re-election


With no debate about hanging chads or absentee ballots afterall, the nation has selected George W. Bush to continue serving as President of the United States.

"America has spoken, and I'm humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens," Bush said. "With that trust comes a duty to serve all Americans. And I will do my best to fulfill that duty every day as your president."

Bush captured 274 electoral votes, with Iowa and New Mexico yet to be decided, likely also in his column. John Kerry had garnered 252 electoral votes.

"My friends, it was here that we began our campaign for the presidency. And all we had was hope and a vision for a better America. It was a privilege and a gift to spend two years traveling this country, coming to know so many of you," Kerry said early Wednesday morning.

Although many analyst and pollsters had projected a high turnout among voters between the ages of 18-25, early returns indicate that this has not been the case.

While no official tally has been released, exit polls indicate that young voters came to the polls at roughly the same rate they did in 2000. Some felt that the swell in voting among this age group could serve as a catalyst for both parties.

Tennessee, as expected, went for incumbent President George W. Bush. Challenger John F. Kerry captured only 43 percent of the vote (1,029,935 votes) compared to Bush's 57 percent (1,376,392 votes).

Nationwide, however, the picture was not so clear Tuesday night.

Bush retained Republican strongholds across the southeast, gaining Florida. Kerry won in all of the states that highly favored Democrats in the polls, such as New York, California, Pennsylvania and Maine.

National Elections

President and Vice President of the United States

  • John F. Kerry, John Edwards (D)
  • George W. Bush, Dick Cheney (R) - Incumbent
  • Michael Badnarik, Richard Campagna (I)
  • Ralph Nader, Peter Miguel Camejo (I)
  • Michael Anthony Peroutka, Chuck Baldwin (I)

    State Elections

    United States House of Representatives (8th Congressional District)

  • John Tanner (D) - Incumbent
  • James L. Hart (R)

    Tennessee Senate (24th Senatorial District)

  • 74.2 percent -- Roy Herron (D) - Incumbent
  • 25.8 percent -- Dennis J. Doster (R)

    Tennessee House of Representatives (76th Representative District)

  • 100 percent -- Mark L. Maddox (D) - Incumbent; Unopposed

    Martin Municipal Elections

    Alderman for Ward I (Chose 1)

  • 793 votes -- Danny Nanney - Incumbent
  • 459 votes -- Matthew B. Vincent
  • 232 votes -- Darrell Simmons

    Alderman for Ward II (Chose 1)

  • 826 votes -- Johnny Tuck
  • 300 -- Jim Dickenson

    Alderman for Ward III (Chose 1)

  • 850 -- Randy Edwards - Incumbent; Unopposed

    More than one million Tennesseans cast early ballots

    Tennessee’s Secretary of State Office reported Friday that 1,127,739 had cast ballots in the early voting period from Oct. 13 – 28. The Weakley County elections commission reported that 4,995 ballots had been cast at the courthouse in the same period.

    Last Tuesday, The Pacer reported that just under ten percent of all registered voters in the 6th county district, where UTM students would go to the polls, had voted early.

    Shelby County, which includes the city of Memphis, boasted 161,871 early voters, with over 20,000 casting ballots on Oct.28, the last day to early vote.

    Metro Davidson County, including the city of Nashville, reported 126,975 early voters. Knox County, including the city of Knoxville, reported 108,319.

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    Updated 3:36 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 3 , 2004