2013 United States gubernatorial election

Final result of the 2013 US gubernatorial election:

Democrats gain

Republicans confirmed

In 2013 , only two of the 50 states held gubernatorial elections in the United States . In both Virginia and New Jersey , elections were held on November 5, 2013 for the governor who, as the head of the state executive, oversees the affairs of state. Since neither presidential nor congressional elections were held in parallel , they are referred to in American as so-called off-year elections ; i.e. elections that take place in an odd year (e.g. 2011, 2013 and 2015).

In both Virginia and New Jersey, the governor is elected by direct election every four years . The next gubernatorial elections in these states will take place in November 2017. As a result of the gubernatorial election, the Democrats gained a gubernatorial mandate with the victory of Terry McAuliffes in Virginia, while the Republican incumbent Chris Christie was re-elected in New Jersey.

New Jersey

• 

  Governor Chris Christie (Republican)

• 

  Barbara Buono (Democrat)

In the previous election in 2009, Republican Chris Christie emerged victorious. He could beat the Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine . During his first term in office, Christie managed to convince many citizens with his policies in polls. Above all, he was given the reputation of a bipartisan doer, as New Jersey is traditionally a more liberal state that leans heavily towards the Democrats both at the local level and in the presidential election . The Democrats have a clear majority in the state parliament . Christie, who stands for more moderate positions within his party, managed to work with the Democratic MPs without major difficulties, which made him quite eligible for many Democratic supporters. His crisis management after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 was also rated positively across party lines.

From his party, Governor Christie was re-established in the Republican primaries in the spring of 2013 without significant competition. The Democrats nominated State Senator Barbara Buono as a candidate, who prevailed over local politician Troy Webster in the primaries.

Christie referred to the state's economic recovery since the 2009 financial crisis and a reduction in the budget deficit . Buono accused the incumbent of insufficient support for socially disadvantaged groups and accused him of “misusing” the governorship as a springboard for a possible 2016 presidential candidacy. Christie had a clear lead on all polls ahead of the election. On election day, he clearly prevailed with 60.3% of the vote; 38.2% of voters voted for his challenger. Then in January 2014, Christie was sworn in for his second term.

Virginia

• 

  Terry McAuliffe (Democrat)

• 

  Ken Cuccinelli (Republican)

• 

  Robert Sarvis (Libertarian)

Virginia is the only US state that does not allow the immediate re-election of the governor. Therefore, the office is filled every four years. Incumbent Bob McDonnell , who stands for right-wing conservative positions within the Republican Party, was therefore not eligible to run. In his place, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ran for the Republicans. Surprisingly, there was no competition within the party for politicians close to the Tea Party movement . There was also only one candidate for the Democrats. They nominated businessman and former chairman of the Democratic National Committee Terry McAuliffe . Through his profile as an entrepreneur, McAuliffe was primarily intended to represent economic competence; at the same time, however, advocating for social issues. The Libertarian Party also put up a candidate for this election . However, their candidate Robert Sarvis was given no chance of an election victory. Rather, it was feared that it would cost the Republicans enough votes to enable the Democrats to win.

The polls saw a head-to-head race between McAufliffe and Cuccinelli, although McAufliffe managed to lead more polls. In the end, he was able to win the election with 47.8% of the vote. Cuccinelli got 45.2%, while Sarvis came third with 6.5%. McAufliffe took over the governorship in January 2014. It was the first gubernatorial election in Virginia since 1977, in which the party of the incumbent US president emerged as the winner.

The defeat of Cuccinelli and the simultaneous victory of the moderate Chris Christie in New Jersey was seen by many political observers as the defeat of the Tea Party movement against the Republican party establishment.

Web links

• 2013 State and Local Election Preview , Analysis and Background (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New Jeryes Governor election 2013 , The New York Times (English)
2. ↑ Virgina Governor election 2013 , The New York Times (English)
3. ↑ US gubernatorial elections: Tea Party threatens double slap , Spiegel.de, November 5, 2013