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NOVEMBER 8, 2000

Note: This story has been updated since first being posted at 2:30 AM EST. Latest update: 4:00 AM EST.

Indian Country and the rest of the nation are waking up to the possibility of a Republican-controlled government today, with Texas Governor George W. Bush holding onto a slim lead over Al Gore in the race for President of the United States.

By all the latest accounts, Congress has kept its majority Republican edge. Should Bush be declared the official winner, this would be the first time in decades, 1954 to be exact, that the GOP would control the Executive and Legislative branches of the government.

But both campaigns are awaiting on one state: Florida. Late in the evening on Election Day, all the news organizations gave Gore a win there, a key state with its 25 electoral votes.

Minutes later, the projection was rejected and the state was place in the "too close to call" category. News stations attributed the attribution to an alleged input error from Voting News Service, who provides the raw numbers to the major networks.

Early this morning, however, they all gave the state to Bush, giving him just enough electoral votes to win the race.

Now, news organizations, including Indianz.Com, are rushing to update their presses and web sites with the revelation that Florida is still up in the air. The Bush and Gore camps are now in limbo as a predicted Gore concession speech has been delayed.

The vote is so close that an automatic recount will occur in Florida, due to state election law. Other states where the votes are close may also see a recount.

How the potential election of Bush to the White House will affect Indian issues remains to be seen. With the signing of the revised tribal consultation executive order on Monday by President Bill Clinton, tribal leaders throughout the country praised the Clinton administration's -- and by extension, the Democratic party's -- unprecedented commitment to sovereignty.

So far, Bush's only promise on Indian issues is almost $1 billion to improve tribal schools. But part of that promise was already fulfilled when President Clinton signed 2001 Interior Appropriations bill into law last month.

Still, as of this month, the Bush campaign and its supporters, including Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo) were touting that promise as one of the reasons to vote for him.

Get the latest numbers:
National Presidential Summary (The Washington Post)

Related Stories:
Campaign Watch: The President (Politics 11/6)
The President, Part I (Politics 10/30)
The President: Part II (Politics 10/31)
Voters' Guide: The President, Part III (Politics 11/1)
Indian funding signed into law (Tribal Law 10/12)