Discover Politics

Following a photo-finish to the Minnesota Twin’s season, and several nailbiters by the Minnesota Vikings, Twin cities residents are undoubtedly used to close contests. There would be no such drama on November 3rd in the Twin Cities’ mayoral races.

St. Paul incumbent Chris Coleman bested his opponent, Eva Ng, by 38 points, cruising to an easy and expected victory. Likewise, R.T. Rybak cruised to victory in a field of 11 candidates, garnering 73.6 % of “first choice” votes.

Rybak’s victory came in an “Instant Run-off Vote,” the first time this system has been used in Minnesota. This system has voters rank their top three choices, relying on second and third-place votes if the first-place vote fails to garner a majority winner. It has been debated at great length by supporters, but argument over the system in Minneapolis was moot Tuesday night, as Rybak’s dominance was more than enough to win on the first try.

There was more drama in other parts of the country, with Republican Bob McDonnell winning Virginia’s race for Governor, and Republican Chris Christie unseating Democrat Jon Corzine in New Jersey’s contest for Governor. For more in depth analysis of these races, check out Politico’s election coverage.

The other widely-watched federal race was a victory for the Democrats in New York’s 23rd District. Democrat Bill Owens defeated Conservative Doug Hoffman in what may be seen as a rebuke for the conservative forces who supported Hoffman’s candidacy throughout the country. When big-name Republicans (Palin, Pawlenty, Thompson, and Armey) supported Hoffman over Republican-endorsed Dede Scozzafava, the support for the moderate Republican quickly eroded. She quit the race on October 31st, clearing the way for a two-horse race. Democrat Bill Owens won with 49% of the vote, a hallmark victory for Democrats. It is the first time a Democrat has held NY-23 since 1993.

Finally, last night saw two state referendums on same-sex marriage in Maine and Washington state. Amid high turnout in Maine, voters struck down a law allowing gay marriage, 53-47%. Washington’s “Everything but Marriage” referendum passed 51-49%, granting domestic partners many of the rights afforded to married couples.  Neither referendum was a sweeping victory, the close margins show that a large rift remains in America on the issue of gay marriage.