Dems Dent GOP In Off-Year Vote
Win Gov. Races In NJ, Va., & 4 Mayor's Races; GOP Wins NYC, San Diego
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Play CBS Video Video Disgusted N.J. Residents Vote The race for governor of New Jersey was particularly vicious and featured a barrage of negative ads. As Jim Axelrod reports, the bitter tone of the campaign could be a reason for low voter turnout.
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Video Close Race In Virginia President Bush made a last-minute appearance with Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore. As Gloria Borger reports, Republican strategists are desperate for a victory.
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Video Bush Stumps In Virginia Bill Plante reports on President Bush's effort to help elect Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore as the president confronts several serious issues surrounding his administration.
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Virginia Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine waves to the crowd during a victory celebration in Richmond Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005. Kaine defeated Republican candidate Jerry Kilgore in the state's gubernatorial election. (Getty Images/Stephen Chernin)
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New Jersey Governor-elect Jon Corzine, right, hugs his son, Jeffrey, as confetti falls during his victory celebration November 8, 2005 in East Brunswick, N.J. (Getty Images/Stephen Chernin)
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver arrive at a polling place in the garage of a home in Los Angeles' Brentwood district Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2005. (AP)
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Interactive Election 2005 A wrap-up of this year's elections.
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Interactive Political Scandals Politics can be a strange and dirty business. Check out some of the biggest missteps and mishaps in recent history.
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Interactive Blockbuster Run Schwarzenegger's story, his agenda, photos and more.
Corzine and Forrester, both multimillionaires, spent upward of $70 million to succeed Codey, who assumed the office last year when Democratic incumbent Jim McGreevey resigned over a homosexual affair.
A voter survey in New Jersey found women favored Corzine by more than 20 points while men narrowly preferred Forrester. Two-thirds of Hispanics and nearly all blacks favored the U.S. senator, while whites and wealthier people split their votes between the candidates. Self-described independents favored Corzine narrowly over Forrester.
Most voters said President Bush was not a factor in their choices Tuesday, according to the survey conducted Tuesday by the AP and its polling partner, Ipsos. The survey was based on interviews with 1,280 adults throughout New Jersey who said they voted in the governor's election.
Survey results were weighted to age, race, sex, education, region and 2004 vote. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
The governors' races are closely scrutinized for possible clues about the mood of the electorate with a year until 2006 elections that will decide control of Congress and the governorships of 36 states.
"Off-term elections are more idiosyncratic, but they're affected by the larger political environment," said Norm Ornstein at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, citing opposition to the Iraq war, the mishandled response to Hurricane Katrina, and the indictment of an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney in the CIA leak investigation.
"You do have some demoralization among Republicans and that can mean a lower turnout," said Ornstein. "It's been an awful time for Republicans."
Corzine, as governor, will have the power to choose a successor to fill his unexpired Senate term. The seat will be up for election in a year, but whoever Corzine appoints will likely have a big advantage in that election.
In California, where Schwarzenegger faces re-election next year, the four ballot measures he pushed were seen as a referendum on his leadership. All four were rejected as public employee unions and Democrats who control the Legislature campaigned against propositions to limit the use of union dues for political purposes, cap state spending, redraw legislative districts and restrict public school teacher tenure.
In other races:
©MMV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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