Will Lester, longtime AP journalist in South Carolina, Florida and Washington, dies at age 71

By MEG KINNARD
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Will Lester, a longtime reporter and editor for The Associated Press who played a critical role in the wire service’s 2000 election-night decision not to call the presidential race, has died. He was 71. According to his family, Lester died unexpectedly Wednesday at his home in Maryland. A native of Atlanta and an Emory University graduate, Lester began his decades-long journalism career at newspapers in South Carolina before moving to AP in 1982. After stints in South Carolina and Florida, he moved to Washington, where his expertise in Florida politics helped steer the wire service through avoiding a possible race call retraction during the 2000 presidential election. Lester was remembered by colleagues as a dedicated newsman who believed in supporting his coworkers.