Bush wins Iowa

2004-11-05 19:10

Des Moines - President George W Bush won the state of Iowa on Friday, claiming the last state in the US election after absentee ballots were counted.

Although Democratic challenger John Kerry had already conceded the race for the White House on Wednesday, the counting of absentee ballots continued in Iowa, which had been too close to call.

By Friday, Bush had 745 980 votes and Kerry had 732 764 with the number of outstanding ballots too few to change the outcome.

Long after the polls closed on Tuesday, Bush won Ohio, which gave him the 270 electoral votes necessary for a second term, and New Mexico.

With Iowa decided, Bush had 286 electoral votes and Kerry 252.

In 2000, Democrat Al Gore won Iowa and New Mexico, which went for Bush this year. The only Democratic switch was New Hampshire, which went for Bush in 2000.

Kerry began campaigning in Iowa nearly three years ago. His surprising win in the January 19 caucuses over a slate of eight other candidates gave him the momentum to claim the Democratic nomination.

Both the Bush and Kerry campaigns had worked hard to capture Iowa's electoral votes, with a steady stream of visitors in the weeks leading up to Tuesday's election.

The Democrats' defeat in Iowa reflects a larger problem for them in the Midwest and across the political map.

Growing more conservative

Along with Wisconsin and Minnesota, Iowa and its seven electoral votes are part of the once-Democratic Upper Midwest that is growing more conservative with each presidential election. Kerry won Minnesota by just 3 percentage points, Wisconsin by a single point.

In addition, Michigan and Pennsylvania went Democratic by 3 percentage points or less and Bush won Ohio despite its economic miseries.

Democrats hope to cultivate the Southwest as a fertile substitute for Midwest losses, but Bush narrowed Democratic advantages among Hispanics in the region.

So Republican red states dominated the Electoral College map, with dashes of blue saved for both coasts and the shifting Midwest.

In Iowa, absentee ballots had to be postmarked by November 1, and those received by county auditors up until noon Monday can be counted. Special precinct boards also have been reviewing provisional ballots that were cast.

Iowa will not certify the results until November 29.

Before this year, the last Republican to carry Iowa was Ronald Reagan in 1984.

- AP