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Why did George W. Bush need Florida's electoral votes to win the presidency?

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U.S. presidential election of 2000 — Bush v. Gore A Florida judge examining a challenged vote at an operations center in Plantation, Florida, during a recount of the state's U.S. presidential election ballots, 2000.

In the United States presidential election of 2000, George W. Bush needed Florida’s 25 electoral votes to secure the presidency because they were necessary for him to reach the required majority of 270 electoral votes.12

Under the Electoral College system, a candidate must receive at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes to be elected president. Following the election, the contest between Bush and his opponent, Al Gore, remained unresolved for weeks due to an extremely narrow margin in Florida. By the time the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Bush v. Gore on December 12, 2000, the allocation of Florida's votes became the deciding factor.1234

Ultimately, winning Florida provided Bush with 271 electoral votes, just one more than the 270 required for victory, despite the fact that he lost the national popular vote to Gore.23