WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Incumbent US Republican President George W. Bush on Tuesday won the 27 electoral votes in the most contested state of Florida, one of the three key battleground states in the 2004 presidential election, according to projections by major US TV networks.

    With the Florida victory, Bush has won 224 electoral votes, 46 short of the 270 needed to win the presidency. His Democratic challenger John Kerry trails with 188 electoral votes.

    Kerry has won another battleground state of Pennsylvania. The third battleground state, Ohio, remains too close to call. The three states have a combined 68 electoral votes.

    During the 2000 election, Florida witnessed a fierce clash between Bush and Democratic candidate Al Gore. After a bitter battle of vote recounting in the state which lasted more than one month, Bush was sent to the White House by a 5-4 Supreme Court decision. Enditem