Military Vote in Florida Could Cement Bush Victory

"I think there obviously will be a role for the military personnel who have retired in Florida and who also are registered to vote there," he said.

"I think it's too early for me to reach any judgment in terms of the proportionalities, how they are going to vote, but they certainly will have an impact in a race that close in that state."

Cohen, a former Republican senator, is in the unusual position of serving in the Cabinet of a Democrat administration.

The military has a historically higher voter turnout than the general public – about 65 percent, compared to 49 percent.

The majority of the military vote is cast by absentee ballot.

The military is largely presumed to be heavily Republican, with some estimates counting as many as 80 percent of the 1.2 million active duty personnel.

Military officers at the Pentagon say this sounds like a reasonable proportion because service members tend to be socially and fiscally conservative.

Interestingly, Gore promised the Defense Department a much larger budget boost than Bush – $100 billion over 10 years, versus $45 billion.

But officers planning to vote Republican asserted their votes were swayed more by Bush's presumed national security team, specifically former Gen. Colin Powell and presumed Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, a well-regarded former defense secretary.

And many in the military feel strongly that the Clinton-Gore administration has weakened America's defense. Now it might be payback time.

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