I think Republicans in Democratic states went out and voted for Bush, even if they knew they were vastly outnumbered and couldn't gain some Electoral votes for Bush.
They knew the popular vote counted in the eyes of the press.
My wife and I voted for W here in Oregon, even though the polls showed there was no way we could win the state. On the positive side, The Oregonian quoted RNC officials as saying they played a con game here in Oregon with the Dems and forced the Dems to spend A LOT more money here than they had initially wanted to spend.