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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2000)
WEDNESDAY November 8, 2000 Volume 107- Issue 54 12 pages - 01 AY ;Wr:\ * J 4 rWI iY TOO CLOSE IIIIAhl I V AM III*.ON/1 HI M II < m»v Rii k I’ri i y will) l<’| •<)l ItTS in >1 Hit i .i| iil.il in All'll ill i u i 11 mm l.iy Kush is ;i |H‘0|)k \ piVsiiU nl. I lr ii|> holds .ill ol Ihe virtues ond qualities Aiuc^ ii an iK‘t‘iIs." i.u i M < ,i if in i V l| >! M >1 I H ll I ‘ l |«'l M'l .tl '.I I M lit'*) n Mil M TS;: UMAUt I V AICMISON/' it( li yi U'ortjn W Hiisii SUppoit , ‘i'- i.illy on ( on<p Avenuf m Austin on luusil^y niiflit I in conlidcnl that our efforts have made a difference for the Republican Party.' |< >1 Ml I Ml I Jr )| M *N uinioi |)olitu ,il s< u‘in c in«ijoi Florida gives last winning votes, recount a possibility By Mariano Castillo & Beth Miller The Battalion Pending a recount in FLorida, Gov. George W. Bush has been elected as the 43rd president of the United States after a narrow victory in one of the tightest presidential races in American history. Gore did not concede the election as of 3 a.m. because of a recount mandat ed in Florida, where the two candidates were separated by 224 votes with 5,000 yet to be counted. The Texas governor received 271 electoral votes — only 22 electoral votes more than the states won by Vice President A1 Gore. Thousands of Bush supporters braved rain and low temperatures out side of the Texas Capitol in Austin Tuesday to hear Bush speak and watched election results as they were released. Florida was the center of attention since early in the evening. The state clinched the presidency for Bush at 1:20 a.m., but CNN originally predict ed a Gore victory at 6:50 p.m. Tuesday. Other key states that remained un decided until early this morning were Oregan and Wisconsin. The crowd gathered at the Texas Capitol erupted in cheers at the an nouncement, a far cry from the “CNN sucks!” chants that filled the air hours earlier when CNN admitted its incor rect presumption. Bush started the evening strong, winning in Virginia and leading by 28 to 3 electoral votes at 6 p.m. The can didates progressed steadily throughout the evening, trading leading positions. Between 6:30 and 7 p.m., Gore picked up Michigan, Illinois and sev eral northeastern states. Bush accumu lated Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Mis sissippi, Kansas and North Carolina. One of the major turning points of the evening came when CNN declared Pennsylvania on the Gore side. In Austin, spectators were reluctant to lose hope but were noticeably nervous. Bush continued to lead the race un til Gore picked up Minnesota — one of the previously undecided states — and pulled ahead, 192 to 185 at 8:30 p.m. W I CHAU ADAM'./ Inf I! ■ Kay iLiiley link hKon S|)c. iks to tl it 1 | >ul >li( n i Auslii i at 11 •! l hmi it) i <■ < ‘let Iri I ll ic Ut'ptil )Ik .in Si*nai or of lox.r.. U Americans have not only elec led a leader, they have elected a president dial will do what's ri^ht." Rick Perry It. (>ov. of loxas At 3 a.m. Gov. George W. Bush was declared president elect of the United States with Florida providing the last votes. A margin of 224 votes between Bush and Vice Pres ident Al Gore creates a possible recount in Florida. Austinites celebrate victory By Rolando Garcia & Brady Creel The Battalion “We want Bush!” chanted the Austin crowd. With the final votes rolling in from Florida, Wisconsin and Oregon, support ers of President-elect George W. Bush danced the night away, knowing that their candidate would be the president. Bush supporters came in throngs to the state capital Tuesday night, braving cloudy skies and cold weather to cheer on their candidate. They got their party. Despite the weather and Bush’s come-and-go domination of the electoral vote throughout the night, the sea of spectators remained steadfast and re lentless, hoping to be a part of the action and watch another page be written in American history. Even as the night wore on — and the electoral vote closer — more people gathered outside the party’s perimeter, which was guarded in part by Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Ross Volunteers. GOP supporters crowded into a closed-off section of Congress Avenue in front of the Capitol building to watch CNN broadcasts of the election results on Jumbotron screens and listen to live en tertainment in a festival-like atmosphere. Beer was plentiful, as were smiles. The mood of the crowd changed quickly as the roller-coaster election re turns trickled in. Cheers greeted the ear ly poll projections, which gave Bush a sizable lead in the electoral college. BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion Bush (R) 246 Electorial Votes Gore (D) 249 Electorial Votes As of 3:40 a.m. 43 electoral votes are undecided But the mood turned more somber, if still cautiously optimistic, as a group of key states went to Vice President Al Gore. “We’re definitely concerned. We’re still hoping, but now he has to win all of the smaller states,” said Doris Light, a resident of Bryan who came with her family to the Austin election-night rally. “I can’t believe the American public would vote Gore in.” “However it turns out, it’s history in the making, and this is a great opportu nity for our children to see it,” Light said. The crowd reacted positively as tele vision networks put several more states in the Bush column, vocalizing approval See Austin on Page 2. Republicans dominate Texas ballot DAI LAS (AP) -— Gov. George W. Bush, anchoring the top of the ticket for the GOP. easily claimed his home state's presidential noil on Tues day while fellow Republicans Hexed their might in down-ballot races. The lopsided margin of 1.3 mil lion votes fueled Bush's apparent win in the national popular vote. Al though Bush wrapped up Texas' 32 electoral votes at poll close, his ap parent victory over Democratic Vice President Al Gore came down to a ra zor-tliiu margin in Florida. Assuming the margin stood. Bush would become the second president of the United Stales elected Irom Texas and 1 a. Gov. Rick Perry would assume the governor's office. In other races, the GOP maintained its advantage in the Texas Senate. ke\ to the major redistriding battle next year. In the race that confirmed that the Republicans would maintain con trol of that legislative chamber, Todd Staples, a former House member from Palestine, defeated Democrat David Fisher, a law yer from Silsbee. Staples led. 61 to 39 percent, w ith Sec GOP on Page 2.