Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie takes the stage with his wife Mary Pat at his election night party in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
Moderate Republican Chris Christie easily won re-election as New Jersey governor, while a conservative Republican popular with the Tea Party movement narrowly lost his bid for the Virginia governorship, in two races closely watched for signs of voters’ moods ahead of the 2016 presidential race.
Christie’s broad, cross-party appeal sealed his status as a top contender if he decides to run for the White House in 2016, and the blunt governor addressed Americans’ frustration with partisan stalemate in his victory speech.
«A dispirited America, angry with their dysfunctional government in Washington, looks to New Jersey to say, ‘Is what I think is happening really happening? Are people really coming together?'» Christie told supporters. «Let me give the answer to everyone who is watching tonight. Under this government, our first job is to get the job done, and as long as I’m governor, that job will always, always be finished.»
The results came less than three weeks after the 16-day partial government shutdown, a maneuver pushed by conservative Republicans seeking to delay or defund Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform law, known as Obamacare.
Christie for Governor Chairman William Palatucci hinted at possible national aspirations for his candidate. «The Governor’s convincing win also sounds a note for our entire country – who you elect and how they govern matters,» he said.
In Virginian, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe was elected governor, largely with the support of the heavily populated Washington suburbs that were hard hit by the government shutdown.
McAuliffe’s campaign had held up rival Ken Cuccinelli, the state’s attorney general, as a symbol of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, seen by many voters as responsible for the shutdown, which economists said took a $24 billion bite out of the US economy.
Cuccinelli’s loss could be seen as a setback for the Tea Party movement, which swept a wave of right-wing lawmakers into Congress in 2010 and has been seeking to extend its legislative influence in next year’s congressional elections.
But Cuccinelli, a social conservative, carried the state’s more rural southern and western districts, and his bid was undercut by a Libertarian candidate who won nearly 7 percent of the vote – much more than McAuliffe’s margin of victory, according to results with most votes counted.
Cuccinelli surged late in the campaign, seeking to tie McAuliffe to Obamacare, which has been plagued with technical difficulties since its October 1 launch.
The close race reflected the political split in Virginia, which Obama won in both his presidential races but which elected a Republican governor four years ago.
In liberal New York City, Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, crushed Republican Joseph Lhota, running on a platform to bring the «two New Yorks» of rich and poor closer together.
The White House said Obama called McAuliffe, de Blasio and Boston Mayor-elect Martin Walsh, also a Democrat, to congratulate them on their victories.
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