Pundits Debate Close Race on 'O'Reilly'

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich expressed confidence Bush would be the winner by the end of the night.

"First of all, I think Bush is clearly going to win," said Gingrich. "He's going to carry almost every small state and end up with over 270 electoral votes. If he gets Pennsylvania and Florida, he'll be in the 330 range."

Gingrich said exit polls might not be accurate because of the larger-than-normal number of absentee ballots.

Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro commented on voter turnout. "The thing that really struck me when I was voting was the length of the line. In New York City, they're anticipating that the turnout's 70 percent. I don't remember a turnout that large in recent years.

"One of the things that I think we're not taking into account is that Democratic [voters] – a lot of them do vote later in the day."

Democrat strategist Mary Anne Marsh said the election may turn out to be like many people are saying – one of the closest elections ever.

Noting the tight race, Marsh said: "I think the message from the voters will be it's not a mandate for whoever wins. Whoever wins it will be by the slimmest of margins, and what the voters are saying there is you better keep your promise, because if you don't, we'll vote you out in four years. So in many ways, the next president is going to be even more compatible to the voter than perhaps the last several."