Bush set to declare victory in election

PRESIDENT George W. Bush plans to declare victory in the 2004 election if he wins one of two remaining states, Nevada or New Mexico, and assumes he has already won Ohio, a senior adviser said this morning. The official said the White House considered Bush -electoral count to be at 269, including Ohio- 20 electoral votes, and did not believe the state -disputed provisional ballots would be enough to eliminate Bush- lead in the regular vote count there. «We won Ohio. It -done,» the official said. The White House was awaiting the results from New Mexico and Nevada, and Bush was leading in both of those states with only a few precincts left to be counted. When one of those states falls to Bush, the president plans to go to a Republican celebration in Washington and thank his supporters and lay out a vision for a second term, the official said.