By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – As expected, President Bush won Alabama in Tuesday's general election by a comfortable margin. With 98 percent of the precincts reporting, Bush did have 63 percent of the vote to John Kerry's 37 percent. Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby was re-elected to a fourth term Tuesday. Shelby defeated Democratic challenger Wayne Sowell. With 96 percent of the vote counted, Shelby had 68 percent to Sowell's 32 percent. Sowell was the first black to win a major party nomination in a U.S. Senate race in Alabama. Shelby is a Republican from Tuscaloosa. He led in 58 of Alabama's 67 counties in the victory. The 70-year-old promised he would have an ambitious agenda over the next six years in the Senate.