WASHINGTON-Although a lavishly appointed enchilada bar dominated one large room in the Capitol Hilton, host of the Republican election party, the well-dressed crowd milling around it had all eyes focused on the various televisions tuned to CNN or ABC scattered around the periphery of the room.
Just before 10 p.m., the indistinct cocktail mumble spontaneously surged into the loudest cheers of the night when CNN recanted its assertion that Gore had won Florida and declared the state too close to call.
Young men in dark suits and young women in cocktail dresses dominated the gathering. GOP pins and bottles of beer seemed to be the two main fashion accessories.
The excitement in the room was obvious, besides the periodic mass cheers that resulted from positive Bush results, raucous individual whoops broke out constantly over more obscure congressional news.
At 10:30, the race was so tight different television stations were broadcasting considerably different electoral numbers.
The University made a strong showing at the event.
1999 College graduate Tucker McNeil, now press secretary for retiring South Carolina Rep. Mark Sandford, voiced his strong support for Bush but said he was pleased with the excitement of the election, saying he had to wait in line for almost two hours to vote.
"People are actually interested in [the election] ... Hopefully this will be a breath of fresh air for the political process... and hopefully Bush wins," McNeil said.
Matt Leggett, also a 1999 College graduate, is now a special assistant to South Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms. He said he was excited that former governor George Allen (R) prevailed in Virginia over incumbent Charles Robb (D) in the Senatorial race.
"He'll be a senator to watch," he said.
1995 College graduate Matt Phillips said he covered the Democrat's election party in 1992 for The Cavalier Daily. He said he was very impressed by the narrow margin of the race.
"It's obviously going to be a long night," Phillips said. "Anybody who had the delusion that it would be a blowout obviously had a few too many tonight."
Fellow 1995 College alumna Anne Chitwood also works for Helms. She said she was most impressed by Bush's attitude. "I think Governor Bush has been extremely optimistic ... I certainly hope that we're going to take the White House tonight," she said.
Not all attendees had fond feelings for the University, however. Mick Steel, 1999 graduate of the University of North Carolina, heartily cursed the University before making a comment on the closeness of the race.
"I saw two presidents up there tonight," Steel said, gesturing toward the large television screens that dominated one wall of the main ballroom. "But then again," he said. "I have been drinking."
The pressroom, a deserted haven from the crowded ballroom, was enlivened by the cheers of Leonora Brown. The former State Senator from New Jersey said she had been working all over the country for the Bush Campaign since December.
"What I'm showing you is that the passion of the Bush people is stronger than the passion of the Gore people," she said. "I haven't been this excited about an election since 1983, when I upset an incumbent to become the first female senator in New Jersey history."
Another cheer erupted after 12:30 a.m., when it was announced the Republicans had retained control of the House of Representatives.
By 1 a.m., the crowd had thinned noticeably, although excitement was still high.
AndrŽ Kleinmeulman, a visitor from the Netherlands, stood at the edge of the crowd. He described himself as a Gore supporter who attended the party with Republican friends.
"Elections in our country are not so interesting and not so exciting," he said.
He added that he thought there was too much money involved in the political process.
Fellow Dutchman Frans Weisglas said he was particularly interested in this election because he is Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament in his own country.
"This election is thrilling of course," he said. "They are never so close in our system."
He also criticized the United States' campaign finance rules.
"There is too much money and too much influence from private business," he said. He added that this was not a problem in the Netherlands.
By 1:30 a.m., beer bottles had switched to coffee cups in most party-goers hands, with only a few states left and the election miraculously getting even more narrow, the remaining Bush supporters settled down to spend a long night at the edge of their seats.
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