President George W. Bush won re-election on 2 November 2004, defeating Democrat John Kerry by a decisive margin and carrying Republican congressional candidates with him. The party increased its Senate total to 55 seats and widened its hold on the House.
The victory quickly surfaced deep divisions within the party. Conservative Christians who powered much of Bush's support pushed for Supreme Court nominees who would reverse Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. That pressure intensified because Chief Justice William Rehnquist had been diagnosed with cancer, making at least one vacancy imminent. Bush had signaled he favored nominees in the mold of Rehnquist or Justice Clarence Thomas.
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, set to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, publicly doubted that nominees committed to overturning Roe could win confirmation. Conservative activists demanded he be passed over for the chairmanship. James Dobson of Focus on the Family warned that Republicans must deliver on their promises or face consequences at the next election.
Specter noted he had supported all of Bush's judicial nominees, many blocked by Senate Democrats. Republicans held 55 seats, five short of the 60 needed to end a nomination filibuster. Senators Susan Collins and Chuck Hagel urged the party to avoid ideological tests and called on Bush to build broader national consensus.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.