Some notable races and measures in Tuesday's election: GOVERNORS: _Chris Christie, a Republican former U.S. attorney, unseated New Jersey Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, a billionaire former Wall Street executive. _In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell beat Democrat R. Creigh Deeds to replace the term-limited Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine. U.S. HOUSE: _California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi easily defeated his Republican opponent, attorney David Harmer, in a special election for a Northern California congressional seat. _ Democrat Bill Owens won a special election for a rural New York congressional seat that Republicans had held for decades. Some prominent Republicans, including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, had backed Conservative Doug Hoffman. The hand-picked GOP candidate, state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, withdrew from the race and threw her support to Owens. MAYORS: _In Atlanta, a six-way race to succeed term-limited Mayor Shirley Franklin, the city's first female mayor, will lead to a December runoff. The two top vote getters Tuesday were City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who was trying to become the city's first white mayor in a generation, and state Sen. Kasim Reed, who is black. _Boston Mayor Thomas Menino won an unprecedented fifth consecutive four-year term. He has been in office for 16 1/2 years, longer than any mayor in the city's history. _Ron J. Corbett, a trucking firm executive, was elected mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the recovery from a devastating 2008 flood was among the major issues. _Former NBA star Dave Bing won re-election as mayor of Detroit, where voters were trying to put the turmoil of the past year _ the fall of ex-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and the federal conviction of a City Council member _ behind them. _In Houston, city controller Annise Parker and former city attorney Gene Locke are headed to a runoff to decide who will succeed three-term Mayor Bill White in America's fourth-biggest city. Parker would be the city's first openly gay mayor. _The Democratic mayors of Minnesota's Twin Cities won re-election. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak won a third four-year term, despite being open about a probable run for governor in 2010. St. Paul's mayor, Chris Coleman, recently ruled out a run for governor. _New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg won a third term in a surprisingly close race against Democratic city Comptroller William Thompson Jr., who tried to stoke voter resentment over the way Bloomberg changed the city's term-limits law. Bloomberg was expected to spend more than $100 million, the most expensive self-financed campaign in American history. Continued... |