Like you didn't know already, but I just need to post this for the record and then go have a beer and sit in a quiet room ... *sigh* Democratic challenger John Kerry has admitted defeat in the US election, giving President George W Bush a second term in office. Kerry campaign sources said the senator had already telephoned President Bush. He will make a formal statement at 1900 GMT, and the president is expected to speak at 2000 GMT. Mr Kerry called Mr Bush to concede the state of Ohio, whose 20 Electoral College votes held the key to victory in a cliffhanger election. Earlier projections gave Mr Bush 254 Electoral College votes and Senator Kerry 252. The winner needed to take Ohio to push him to the 270 votes needed for victory. The delay in declaring the state a win for Mr Bush came about because the Democrats said there was a substantial number of uncounted absentee and provisional ballots that could still have clinched it for Mr Kerry. Republicans look set to tighten their grip on the Senate, defeating Democratic leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota and capturing a string of seats across the South. Mr Daschle is the first party leader to lose re-election in more than 50 years. Projections put turnout in the presidential election at more than 115m voters - 10m more than in 2000. The projected vote showed Mr Bush leading Mr Kerry nationwide by 3.5m votes. White House chief of staff Andrew Card had earlier hailed a "decisive margin" of margin of victory for Mr Bush. Two US television networks - NBC and Fox - called Ohio for President Bush several hours before Mr Kerry's concession. Initially, the Democrats responded defiantly, with Mr Kerry's running mate John Edwards telling supporters in Boston that they would "fight for every vote". But the BBC's Rob Watson in Washington says that, in the end, it appears John Kerry felt he was just too far behind in Ohio to continue to fight on and to add to the country's divisions. Discuss ... Source: BBC News