Andy, President Bush's chief of staff, addressed the early morning crowd of supporters who stayed up all night in the Ronald Reagan Building to hear a victory speech.

Andrew H. Card, Jr., White House Chief of Staff said:

We are convinced that President Bush has won re-election with at least 286 Electoral College votes.

And he also had a margin of more than 3 1/2 million popular votes.

President Bush's decisive margin of victory makes this the first presidential election since 1988 in which the winner received the majority of the popular vote.

And in this election, President Bush received more votes than any presidential candidate in our country's history.

Republicans also scored other great victories in this election. We won important victories adding to our majority in the House and adding to our majority in the Senate.

In Ohio, President Bush has a lead of at least 140,000 votes.

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The Secretary of State's office has informed us that this margin is statistically insurmountable even after the provisional ballots are considered.

So, President Bush has won the state of Ohio!

President Bush has also been declared the winner in Nevada.

The other victories that he has had will be added in the strong showings of margins that we are looking at in Iowa and in New Mexico. And we are also going to put those states in the winner's column, as well.

This all adds up to a convincing electoral college victory, as well as a strong endorsement of President Bush by his fellow Americans in the popular vote.

President Bush decided to give Senator Kerry the respect of more time to reflect on the election.

The President will be making a statement later today.

Again, I thank all of you, who stayed up these many hours waiting for the opportunity to celebrate this victory.

And I also thank all of the volunteers all across this great country that worked so hard.

But most importantly, I thank the many voters who participated in this important election.

It was a great celebration of our democracy.

Thank you and God bless you.

About Andrew H. Card, Jr.

On November 26, 2000, Andrew H. Card, Jr., was appointed to be Chief of Staff in the presidential administration of Texas Governor George W. Bush. Mr. Card was chosen because of his impressive service record in the public and private sector, including serving in the administrations of two former presidents.

From 1992 until 1993, Mr. Card served as the 11th U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George Bush. In August 1992, at the request of President Bush, Secretary Card coordinated the Administration's disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. Later that year, Secretary Card directed President Bush's transition office during the transition from the Bush Administration to the Clinton Administration.

From 1988 to 1992, Mr. Card served in President Bush's administration as Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff. He managed the daily operations of the White House staff and participated in the full range of economic, foreign, and domestic policy development.

Mr. Card served in President Reagan's administration as Special Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and subsequently as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, where he was liaison to governors, statewide elected officials, state legislators, mayors and other elected officials.

Prior to being named Chief of Staff for the presidential administration of Governor Bush, Mr. Card was General Motors' Vice President of Government Relations since 1999. Mr. Card directed the company's international, national, state and local government affairs activities and represented GM on matters of public policy before Congress and the Administration.

From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Card was President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the trade association whose members were Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation. The AAMA dissolved in December 1998.

He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1975-1983. In 1982, Mr. Card was named Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators Association and received the Distinguished Legislator Award from the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

Mr. Card graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. He attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and has received numerous honorary degrees and awards.

A native of Holbrook, Massachusetts, Andy, and his wife Kathleene, have three children and four grandchildren.

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Ronald Reagan Building & Int'l Trade Center, Washington D.C.

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