Election 2004

Bush based hunch on Pasco

Gov. Jeb Bush predicted his brother would win Florida after seeing early returns from the county.

By LUCY MORGAN
Published November 4, 2004

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush said he knew his brother was going to win Florida on Tuesday night just as soon as he saw election returns from Pasco County.

"The two counties I look at - thankfully they are ones that come in early - are Pasco and Orange," Bush told reporters Wednesday just minutes after learning that U.S. Sen. John Kerry was conceding defeat in the presidential race. "When I saw that we were up by a significant amount in Pasco County, I did call my brother and said, "This is much better than our projections were - you're going to win.' "

He waited late into the night for more confirmation.

At a Wednesday morning news conference, the governor recalled predicting his brother would win Florida by four points.

"I was off a point," Bush added. Unofficial returns show President Bush winning Florida 52.1 to 47.1 percent with a margin of 367,702 votes. Quite a difference from the 537 vote margin of victory four years ago.

"I could sense the president was going to carry the day," the governor said. "The intensity of support was so strong, people were motivated.

[Last modified November 4, 2004, 00:41:23]