American Parties and Elections
2004. The last presidential elections in the United States were a real battle. A Republican George W. Bush had won the race with some 50.73% of votes. His rival, a Democrat John Kerry, had 48.27%. Around 62 million voters, primarily from Southern, Central, and Eastern parts of the U.S., voted for Bush. And Westerners and North-Easterners, totaling about 59 million, chose Kerry. Bush stayed at the office for the second period.
2000. Interestingly, the outcome of these elections is strange, because Bush had much less votes than his rival Albert Gore. While George W. Bush had 50.5 million votes (47.87%), his Democratic opponent had over 51 million (28.38%). However, Electoral votes split differently; 271 for Bush vs. 266 for Gore. Thus, George W. Bush had become the 43rd president of the United States, having fewer votes than his rival Albert Gore.
1996. That year the major battle was again between a Democrat and a Republican. That year, William Clinton had won significantly more votes than his major opponent Robert Dole, a Republican. Clinton had over 47 million votes (49.23%), while Dole had a little over 39 million (40.72%). Electoral vote increase the gap between the two even more; 70% vs. 30%. This way, William Clinton stayed in the office for the second period.
Bibliography
1.	United States Presidential Elections Results. (2006). U.S. Elections Atlas. Retrieved April 18th, 2006 from http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/