Bush wins majority of popular vote in re-election bid.

Byline: Jeff Zeleny

CHICAGO _ President Bush affirmed his election to a second term Wednesday with a relieved tone of conciliation after winning over a majority of American voters during a long, spiteful campaign that exposed the nation's cultural divide and delivered a strong advantage to Republicans.

In his march to victory, the president held off an acrid opposition to the Iraq war and rode a wave of concern over moral issues as 59 million people chose him over Sen. John Kerry. As the race inched close to a legal battle in Ohio, a cordial telephone call ended the deadlock, with Kerry suddenly conceding only hours after his campaign prepared to contest the results.

For the first time since his father's election in 1988, the winner of the presidential contest seized an outright majority of the popular vote. Bush won at least 279 electoral votes, while Republicans expanded control of Congress, broadening their rule across both branches of government and raising the prospects of changing the makeup of the aging Supreme Court.

"America has spoken, and I'm humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens," Bush told exuberant supporters during an afternoon address in Washington. "With that trust comes a duty to serve all Americans, and I will do my best ...