re word this “ On the evening of election day—November 7, 2000—a clear winner of the presidential election had yet to emerge, ultimately the contest focused on florida. Networks initially projected Gore the winner in that state but later declared that Bush had opened an overwhelming lead. Gore called Bush to concede the election, but in the early hours of the following morning it became clear that the Florida race was much closer than Gore's staff had originally believed. Fewer than 600 votes separated the candidates and that margin appeared to be narrowing