In a close race, George W. Bush was re-elected president over Democratic nominee Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts. Bush earned 286 electoral votes and 51 percent of the popular vote to Kerry’s 252 electoral votes and 48 percent popular; Independent Ralph Nader took the last 1 percent of the popular vote.
George W. Bush (1946–) was the forty-third president of the United States. Bush’s two-term presidency was marked by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent American wars in the Middle East. The oldest son of former President George H. W. Bush, George W. served in the Texas Air National Guard and worked in the Texas oil industry before entering politics. He was elected as the Republican governor of Texas in 1994 and won reelection in 1998. In 2000, he ran for the presidency against Democratic nominee Al Gore...