Election Roundup 2013

NJ Gov. Chris Christie

Unbiased Political News
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey easily defeated his Democratic challenger, State Sen. Barbara Buono, to win a second term in Trenton.  Winning by a whopping 60% to 38%, the Republican Christie coasted to victory against what seemed to be an unknown and almost invisible challenger. Although Christie was elected to serve the citizens of New Jersey for another 4 years, most political pundits see his victory last night as the initial “setting the stage” for a presidential run in 2016.  Stay tuned…

Virginia’s Governor-elect Terry McCauliffe

In Virginia, it was more of a nail biter in the race for governor between Democrat Terry McCauliffe and Republican State Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Virginians seemed to strongly dislike both candidates, however McCauliffe etched out an 11th hour win (48% to 45%) in what appeared to be a selection of the “lesser of the 2 evils.”  Governor-elect McCauliffe’s victory can almost assuredly be attributed to the enormous cash he raised and spent during his campaign, along with the high profile help he received from his close friends Bill and Hillary Clinton (McCauliffe is a former Chairman of the Democratic Party and campaign chair for Bill Clinton’s presidential run).

NYC Mayor-elect Bill De Blasio and family

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In New York City, the decades-long reign of Republican mayors has come to an end.  Democrat Bill De Blasio handily defeated his Republican challenger, Joe Lhota, by a margin of 73% to 24%. Although De Blasio’s victory was expected for months and seen as a mere formality, New Yorkers still reveled in the visual of their newly elected Italian-American mayor and his African-American wife and bi-racial children — including son Dante and his now famous afro.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

In other political news of the day, he may not have been running for reelection, but Toronto Mayor Rob Ford surely hijacked the headlines. After a videotape emerged of him smoking crack cocaine, Ford denied the tape was valid and vehemently denied that he was a crack addict. However, Ford came clean yesterday, admitting that he had indeed smoked crack but was not an addict.  He denied he was ever dishonest about his habit, instead blaming the media for “not asking the question correctly” and chastising them for asking if he was a crack addict, versus asking if he had ever smoked crack. Ironically, the ballsy mayor’s approval rating increased after his admission, prompting him to refuse to resign but to stay on the job until the voters have their say in next year’s election.  Hmmm…

That’s the election roundup for 2013.  As always, please tell us your thoughts below!