ADISON, Wis. - George W. Bush will not request a presidential election recount in Wisconsin, his campaign chairman, Don Evans, said yesterday.
An unofficial tally found that Bush lost to Vice President Al Gore by more than 5,000 votes.
''The race there was indeed close, but Governor Bush will do his part to help bring this election to a conclusion,'' Evans said.
With all 72 counties reporting, Gore was found to have defeated Bush by 5,697 votes in one of Wisconsin's tightest presidential races ever, according to an unofficial tally. It found, 1,243,036 votes for Gore and 1,237,339 for Bush.
State Republicans had urged Bush to request a recount in Wisconsin, alleging fraud, especially in the heavily Democratic Milwaukee County.
The tallies will not be official until the Elections Board certifies them on Dec. 1. The deadline for either campaign to ask for a recount was 5 p.m. yesterday. Wisconsin has 11 votes in the Electoral College.
Florida's 25 electoral votes will decide the presidency.
The decision to forgo a recount in Wisconsin marked the second time in two weeks that the Bush campaign decided against requesting recounts in close races. Gore beat Bush in Iowa by 4,047 votes out of 1.3 million cast, but considering the contention in Florida, Bush opted not to request a recount.
