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Christie Victory Has Many Looking Ahead To 2016

Christopher Coppock |
November 6, 2013 | 8:58 a.m. PST

Executive Producer

Christie's victory speech left little doubt as to whether he is considering a run in 2016. (Walter Burns/Flickr)
Christie's victory speech left little doubt as to whether he is considering a run in 2016. (Walter Burns/Flickr)
Election day 2013 passed with so little fanfare, most Americans were unaware it had even taken place till they turned on the evening news. 

With an election in New Jersey that was over long before it even begun and an election in Virginia that no one outside of Old Dominion was interested in, it is easy to understand why a majority of the United States to little to no interest.

There were, of course, a few other elections, including a primary in Alabama and a New York City mayoral election, but those are even less relevant to the rest of the country than the first two. 

There is more here, however, than a simple done and dusted election day. In New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie won the most easily predicted reelection in a long time, many people already had their eyes turned towards the 2016 presidential race. 

Christie, a republican, won across the board, picking up votes from democrats, moderates, and conservatives, something that has become increasingly rare for republicans over the past several election cycles. 

In his victory speech, Christie made it clear that he too is looking towards the future, saying “You don’t just show up six months before an election. You show up four years before one. And you don’t just take no for an answer the first time no has happened. You keep going back and trying more.”

Christie went on to say, “I know tonight, a dispirited America, angry with their dysfunctional government in Washington, looks to New Jersey to say, ‘Is what I think happening really happening? Are people really coming together. are we really working, African-Americans and Hispanics, suburbanites and city dwellers, farmers and teachers. Are we really all working together.’ 

SEE ALSO: Gay Marriage Officially Legal In New Jersey

“Let me give the answer to everyone who is watching tonight: Under this government our first job is to get the job done and as long as I’m governor that job will always, always be finished.”

Alex Castellanos, a republican strategist and CNN contributor, only added fuel to the fire when he called Christie’s speech “an announcement.”

Overall, Christie effectively dismantled his unknown democratic challenger Barbara Buono by more than 22 percent of the total vote.

In Virginia, the race for governor was much closer than anticipated, but democrat Terry McAuliffe managed to squeak through ahead of Republic Ken Cuccinelli once votes from democratic strongholds were all counted. 

As it seems with all elections these days, personal attacks and negative ads abounded, which led to many pre-election polls indicating that neither candidate was particularly enticing to constituents, as only slightly more than two million voters in the whole state of Virginia made the trek to the polls on Tuesday. 

On an election day where most in America took little notice, the most telling effects may not come in the next few months, but in 2016, when America will elect the most powerful man in the world for the next four years. 

Reach Executive Producer Christopher Coppock by email.



 

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