Christie, McDonnell, Owens, Bloomberg in, Gay Marriage Out in ME

The results of the most keenly watched races this Election Night 2009 are in. In Virginia, conservative Republican Bob McDonnell, who was expected to win over Democrat Creigh Deeds, won the vote handily by 18% in a state that overwhelmingly supported President Obama in the 2008 elections. Including McDonnell, Republicans swept the top three statewide offices. McDonnell will replace outgoing Governor and DNC Chair Tim Kaine, who is limited to serving only one term under Virginia state law. In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie, a former state Attorney General, won a surprise upset over the Democrat incumbent Jon Corzine by a 49%-44% margin. Pollsters had been predicting a much closer race. Christ Daggett, an Independent spoiler candidate in the race who had been hovering in double digits the past few weeks, garnered only 5% of the vote. Corzine outspent Christie in the race by a 3-1 margin. In New York's hotly contested 23rd Congressional District, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, who had entered Election Night on a wave of momentum driven by such high-profile conservative politicians as Sarah Palin and organizations like the national Tea Party and Club for Growth, conceded to Democrat Bill Owens after a 49%-46% finish in the heavily Republican district. Former candidate Dede Scozzafava, the Republican who withdrew from the race on Sunday, garnered 5% of the vote. Scozzafava ultimately endorsed Owens shortly after dropping out of the race, angering conservatives and embarrassing the national GOP and NRCC, which had spent nearly $1M on Dede's campaign prior to her fade in the polls. In the New York City mayoral race, billionaire Republican Michael Bloomberg, the incumbent who was expected to win by double digits, won a third term as the Big Apple's mayor in a surprise squeaker over Democratic contender and City Comptroller Bill Thompson. Bloomberg had spent more than $100M of his own money during the campaign, a more than 15-1 margin over Thompson's campaign spending. In Maine, gay rights advocates lost a major battle when voters opted to repeal Maine's gay marriage amendment in a 53%-47% finish. The bill was passed by state lawmakers earlier this year, but put on hold when gay marriage opponents mounted a referendum drive that put the issue to voters on the ballot. The loss is a great disappointment to gay rights advocates, who held out hope of a victory in the predominantly liberal Northeast. Gay marriage is already legal in Massachusetts by way of a State Supreme Court ruling, and in neighboring New Hampshire where Governor John Lynch signed a bill into law earlier this year. The gay marriage defeat in Maine marks the 31st straight loss at the ballot box in as many attempts, including the passage of Proposition 8 in California last November. Five states in all, including Vermont, Iowa and Connecticut, all have gay marriage, but by state legislation or court ruling as happened in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. There have been many other races and ballot referendums around the country, but these were the most hotly contested, the most watched nationally or both. In two other elections of note, the Houston and Atlanta mayoral races are headed for runoff elections.