Months of campaigning came to an end for candidates running for New York City mayor, New Jersey governor, New York City Council and New York City comptroller. At 9 p.m. on Nov. 5, polls closed and public voting ended, leaving people uncertain about the future of their local and state government until officials finished counting votes.
The Republican contender for New Jersey governor was incumbent Governor Chris Christie, who has served the office since 2009, while the Democratic challenger was state Sen. Barbara Buono.
In the months leading to election day, de Blasio became the favored candidate. (Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia)
For the past few months, according to the New York Times, “Christie has led by 20 points or more.” At roughly 8:28 p.m. before the closing of the polls, Christie had 96,241 votes or 61.6 percent of the total votes, compared to Buono who had 57,583 votes or 36.9 percent, with the New Jersey residents voting for other candidates strictly limited to 2,299 votes, or 1.5 percent. According to the New York Times, at 11:11 p.m., Christie had earned 1,179,206 votes or 60.4 percent, relative to Buono who earned 770,277 votes or 38.0 percent, resulting in a landslide victory by Christie.
Political experts on The Week attribute Christie’s win to his successful handling of the catastrophic Superstorm Sandy, during which Christie praised President Obama’s response to the storm. Subsequently, analysts indicate that Christie was able to gain support from New Jersey residents who typically affiliated themselves with the Democratic party or independent parties.
Christie delivered an acceptance speech (aired on New Jersey Channel 12) and promised to live up to the high expectations of his leadership over New Jersey residents.
“My pledge to you tonight: I will govern with the spirit of Sandy,” Christie said. “I will never stop leading the state I love. I will not let anyone, any thing, any political party, any government entity or any force get in between me and the completion of my mission.”
Christie sought to further unite the people of New Jersey and work toward achieving socioeconomic prosperity and the objectives he laid out when he began his first term as governor.
“The biggest thing I have learned over the last four years about leadership [is that] leadership is much less about talking than it is about listening,” Christie said. “[It is] about bringing people together and to achieve what we need to achieve to move our state forward. Under this government, our first job is to get the job done and as long as I am governor, that job will always, always be finished.”
There was a lot of interest surrounding Christie’s win considering political analysts’ speculation over whether Christie will become a Republican contender for the 2016 Presidential election. Fueling further speculations, Christie even articulated that his achievements and success as governor of New Jersey can be applied to the federal government.
“I know [that] if we can do this in Trenton, N.J., maybe the folks in Washington, D.C., should tune into their TVs right now,” Christie said.
Residents of New York City actively followed the election of the mayoral office, for which Bill de Blasio represented the Democratic party and Joseph Lhota represented the Republican party. According to the New York Times, as of 11:42 p.m., de Blasio won 73.1 percent of the public vote, or 418,878 votes. Lhota won 24.6 percent of the vote, with only 140,775 votes.
De Blasio delivered an acceptance speech (which can be seen on the official campaign website) thanking the public for its support, and he acknowledged that numerous obstacles exist that may challenge the government in its attempts to achieve social equality.
“All of our work is really just beginning,” de Blasio said. “We have no illusions about the tasks that lie ahead. Tackling inequality is not easy. The road ahead will be difficult but it will be traveled. The problems we have set out to address will not be addressed overnight. There will be many obstacles that will stand in our way but we will overcome them. And I know this — I will never stop fighting for the city I love and the city we all love, and I will never forget that as mayor I work for you.”
One of de Blasio’s major initiatives is the mandated increase in taxes, paid by the wealthy to reduce the “persistant achievement gap” and “low college readiness rates.” His administration plans to use this as a means to curtail social inequality.
“The feeling of inequality is the defining challenge of our times,” de Blasio said. “[This is] because inequality in New York City does not only threaten those that are struggling, but the stakes are so high for every New Yorker. We are not threatening anyone’s success. We are asking those who have done very well to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to do just as well as they have. That is how we all rise together. Opportunity in New York springs from strong neighborhoods. New York is no stranger to big challenges.”
The race for New York City comptroller finished with an even wider gap in voting numbers between the Democratic and Republican candidates. Scott Stringer, the Democratic candidate, defeated John Burnett, the Republican candidate, earning 510,694 votes (79.9 percent), as compared to Burnett who received 109,518 votes (17.1 percent). Stringer, who won against former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a closely contested Democratic primary, resolved to serve “with honesty and integrity.”
Candidates also ran for New York City Council. In the eight districts of the Bronx (11 to 18), all Democratic candidates won a majority of the public vote. Andrew Cohen, Andy King, James Vacca, Fernando Cabrera, Ritchie Torres, Vanessa Gibson, Maria del Carmen Arroyo and Annabel Palma won the elections.
