State executive official elections results, 2013

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Three states held state executive official elections in 2013: New Jersey, Virginia and Wisconsin. In those elections, a total of 6 state executive seats were up for election.

Find more information in our election reviews:

Wisconsin

Wisconsin state executive official elections, 2013
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New Jersey • Virginia • Wisconsin
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The primary election was on February 19, 2013 followed by a general election on April 2, 2013.[1] Incumbent Tony Evers was first elected in April 2009 and won re-election to a second term against challenger Don Pridemore on April 2, 2013.[2]

Candidates had until January 2, 2013 to file.[3] The Superintendent of Public Instruction is a nonpartisan position.


Results

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngTony Evers Incumbent 61.1% 487,030
     Nonpartisan Don Pridemore 38.7% 308,050
     Scattering Various 0.2% 1,431
Total Votes 796,511
Election Results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (dead link).


New Jersey

New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2013

Within minutes of the polls closing, the AP reported Gov. Chris Christie (R) and running mate Kim Guadagno (R) won re-election. Never in doubt, Christie held a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the race. The last time a Republican candidate received over 50 percent in the state was back in 1988.[4] Conceding defeat, Buono said of the race “when it comes down to it, we’re just two parents who want to see the best for our children’s future.” She also noted the lack of support from national Democratic groups, saying her supporters "withstood the onslaught of betrayal from our own political party."[5]

General election

(Governor & Lieutenant Governor running-mate listed together)

[6]


Results

General election

On November 5, 2013, Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno (R) won re-election as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey. They defeated the Buono/Silva (D), Kaplan/Bell (L), Welzer/Alessandrini (I), Sare/Todd (I), Araujo/Salamanca (I), Schroeder/Moschella (I) and Boss/Thorne (I) ticket(s) in the general election.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngChris Christie & Kim Guadagno 60.3% 1,278,932
     Democratic Barbara Buono & Milly Silva 38.2% 809,978
     Libertarian Kenneth Kaplan & Brenda Bell 0.6% 12,155
     Independent Steven Welzer & Patricia Alessandrini 0.4% 8,295
     Independent Diane Sare & Bruce Todd 0.2% 3,360
     Independent William Araujo & Maria Salamanca 0.2% 3,300
     Independent Hank Schroeder & Patricia Moschella 0.1% 2,784
     Independent Jeff Boss & Robert Thorne 0.1% 2,062
Total Votes 2,120,866
Election Results Via: New Jersey Department of State
Primary election
Governor of New Jersey Democratic Primary Election, 2013
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngBarbara Buono 88.1% 173,714
Troy Webster 11.9% 23,457
Total Votes 197,171
Election results via New Jersey Department of State.


Governor of New Jersey Republican Primary Election, 2013
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngChris Christie Incumbent 91.9% 205,666
Seth Grossman 8.1% 18,095
Total Votes 223,761
Election results via New Jersey Department of State.


Virginia

Virginia state executive official elections, 2013

Three state executive seats were up for election in Virginia in 2013.[20] The Republican primary convention took place on May 17-18, 2013, followed by the Democratic primary election on June 11, 2013.[21] The general election took place on November 5, 2013.

Gubernatorial Race

Virginia gubernatorial election, 2013

Replete with controversies, the battle for the Virginia governorship between Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and businessman Terry McAuliffe (D) made national headlines, with mud-slinging continuing up to election day. McAuliffe has consistently led in the polls, albeit with widely varying margins. Libertarian Robert Sarvis managed to regularly garner double-digits.

As results rolled in, Cuccinelli held a small lead over McAuliffe for a good portion of the night, but once the lead went to McAuliffe it never went back.[22] In the end, with over 99 percent reporting, unofficial results showed McAuliffe topping Cuccinelli 47.57 percent to 45.42 percent. Sarvis, meanwhile, took 6.58 percent.[23]

General election


Results

General election
Virginia Gubernatorial General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngTerry McAuliffe 47.8% 1,069,789
     Republican Ken Cuccinelli 45.2% 1,013,354
     Libertarian Robert Sarvis 6.5% 146,084
     N/A Write-in 0.5% 11,087
Total Votes 2,240,314
Election Results via Virginia State Board of Elections.
Primary election

Democratic Party Uncontested: Terry McAuliffe
Republican Party Republican nomination: Ken Cuccinelli

Lieutenant gubernatorial race

Virginia lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2013

Early in the night the race for Virginia Lieutenant Governor was called for Democratic State Senator Ralph Northam over Republican E.W. Jackson.[39] Jackson, a minister at Exodus Faith Ministries, a nondenominational church in Chesapeake, Virginia, consistently trailed in the polls. Winning a surprise victory at the Virginia Republican convention, Jackson became known for his controversial comments, including anti-gay remarks.[40]

General election


Results

General election
Virginia Lieutenant Gubernatorial General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngRalph Northam 55.1% 1,213,155
     Republican E.W. Jackson 44.5% 980,257
     N/A Write-in 0.3% 7,472
Total Votes 2,200,884
Election Results via Virginia State Board of Elections.
Democratic primary election
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Democratic Primary Election, 2013
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngRalph Northam 54.2% 78,337
Aneesh Chopra 45.8% 66,098
Total Votes 144,435
Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections.


Republican Party Republican nomination: E.W. Jackson

Attorney general race

Virginia attorney general election, 2013

Long considered the only competitive state executive race of the night, Republicans put their hope for avoiding a clean sweep on State Senator Mark Obenshain defeating fellow Senator Mark Herring (D). The difference between the two in the polls was consistently within the margin of error. With over 99 percent reporting, the race remained too close to call as of midnight on election day, with Obenshain leading 50.07 percent to 49.72 percent.[23] Herring would not concede, and by the following morning, the Democrat had both gained and lost the lead.[49][50][51] A week later, by the midnight deadline for local election boards to submit results to the state, Herring had taken the lead by an unofficial 163 votes.[52] The race headed for a recount, which was initiated by the losing party, allowed because the difference in results was less than 1%.[53] Obenshain conceded Wednesday afternoon in a news conference in Richmond. “It’s apparent that our campaign is going to come up a few votes short,” Obenshain told reporters.[54][55]

General election

Results

General election
Recount: Virginia Attorney General General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMark Herring (MOV post-recount +907) 50% 1,105,045
     Republican Mark Obenshain 50% 1,104,138
Total Votes 2,209,183
Election Results Virginia State Board of Elections.
Virginia Attorney General General Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMark Herring (MOV pre-recount +165) 49.9% 1,103,777
     Republican Mark Obenshain 49.9% 1,103,612
     N/A Write-In 0.2% 4,892
Total Votes 2,212,281
Election Results via Virginia State Board of Elections.

Recount

On November 25, 2013, the Virginia State Board of Elections certified the results of the attorney general race and declared Mark Herring (D) the winner. According to the certified vote totals, Herring defeated Mark Obenshain (R) by 165 votes out of 2.2 million cast.[59][60][61] A publicly-financed recount was ordered for the week of December 16, and Obenshain conceded on December 18. Judge Beverly W. Snukals oversaw the recount court as it evaluated the ballot submissions from localities. Ultimately, the court upheld Herring's victory. According to the official recount results posted by the Virginia SBE, Herring beat Obenshain by 907 votes.[62][63][64]

Under state election law, the trailing candidate can request a recount if the margin of victory is less than 1 percent. If the margin is over half a percent, the candidate must pay for the recount.[65] Local election boards had until November 19, 2013, to certify their results and pass them onto the Virginia State Board of Elections, which faced a November 25 certification deadline.[66]

A recount in the race for state attorney general was not without recent precedent. In 2005, former Gov. Bob McDonnell ran for the office against Creigh Deeds. The first result showed McDonnell with a victory of 323 votes, out of over 1.9 million votes cast. Deeds went on to file for a recount, which began on December 20, 2005. After preliminary figures revealed 37 additional votes for McDonnell, Deeds conceded, giving McDonnell a 360-vote margin of victory.[65]

In the event of a recount, elections officials double-check and re-add totals from voting machine records. During the 2005 recount, the returns from nine precincts were also examined by hand.[67] A recount cannot begin until the vote is officially certified by the State Board of Elections. After certification, the apparent losing candidate has ten calendar days to file a recount petition with the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond.

The recount court, which determines the procedures of the recount, consists of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court where the recount petition was filed and two other judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The court then appoints recount officials to represent the respective parties to the recount. Once all the votes cast are recounted, the court certifies the candidate with the most votes as the winner.[68]

Tracking the count

See also: 2013 Recount review: Herring's win seals Democratic sweep in Virginia
See also: Race for Virginia Attorney General remains too close to call

Late Tuesday night of election day—November 5, 2013—Virginia Republican Party Chairman Pat Mullins sent out an email congratulating Mark Obenshain (R), although neither he nor Herring had claimed victory or conceded. "We want to make sure all precincts are accounted for and results are accurate, all absentee ballots are counted and every Virginian who cast a provisional ballot has their voice heard," Herring said.[69] By Friday after election day, results were still inconclusive; it was reported that there were 8,363 absentee ballot requests in Fairfax County, but only 4,168 of those votes were counted. A return percentage of 50.3 was very low when neighboring districts 10 and 11 had a return rate of 88 percent and 86 percent, respectively. With it being a heavily Democratic area, it was expected that the approximately 3,000 ballots that had not been counted were likely to result in Herring taking the lead. Another discrepancy was found in the total number of absentee ballots cast. A pre-election news story by WUSA-9 showed Fairfax County reporting over 24,300 absentee ballots case, while the state Board of Elections’ site had reported just 22,484 absentee ballots cast as of November 7.[70]

By the end of the weekend, it was reported that instead of absentee votes, the main problem in Fairfax began with a malfunctioning optical scan machine in the Mason Governmental Center on Columbia Pike. The machine began on Tuesday in good shape, but stopped working after 710 ballots had been cast. Those ballots were then fed into a working machine, and voting continued on that machine. By the end of the day, that machine produced a total of 2,688 votes. When election results were counted, the county reported the 710 votes instead of the 2,688 votes and left 1,978 votes unreported. Bedford County also found sizable errors and added another 732 votes to the count after election night. The Republican-leaning county added 581 of those votes to Obenshain.[71]

A major battle took place over provisional votes - ballots cast by people who did not have a legally permissible ID at the polls. Voters who cast these ballots had until noon on November 8 to show proper ID to their local election board and explain why they cast a provisional vote. Board of Elections staff also reviewed every provisional vote, and it was up to the Board to accept or reject each ballot.[72] As of the evening of November 11, the Fairfax County Election Board had rejected 138 provisional ballots and accepted 172, with 183 left to evaluate.[73] Just weeks before the election, the State Board of Elections initiated a purge of over 38,000 names from the voter rolls. Some local administrators reported finding hundreds of names that should not have been removed, which may have potentially increased the number of provisional ballots cast.[74] Both campaigns urged voters to certify their ballots to ensure their vote was counted.[75] Taking into account a rule change, the Fairfax County Electoral Board certified its results around midnight of November 12.[76] In the end, the board upheld 271 of the freshly-scrutinized provisional ballots: 160 went to Herring and 103 to Obenshain.[77] This prompted Herring to declare victory in the race, even as Obenshain declined to concede, calling it "the closest statewide election in Virginia history."[78][79]

Herring's initial margin of victory was narrow enough to grant Obenshain, as the losing candidate, the right to request a state-funded recount, which he filed on November 27.[80][81] The recount began on December 16 and Obenshain conceded two days later in a news conference in Richmond. Before the three-member recount court completed the tally, unofficial results on December 18 showed Herring had gained nearly 800 votes.[82] “It’s apparent that our campaign is going to come up a few votes short,” Obenshain told reporters. This outcome gave Democrats control of the office for the first time in almost twenty years.[83][84]

Democratic primary election
Attorney General of Virginia Democratic Primary Election, 2013
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMark Herring 51.7% 72,861
Justin Fairfax 48.3% 68,177
Total Votes 141,038
Election results via Virginia State Board of Elections.


Republican Party Republican nomination: Mark Obenshain

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2013 Spring Election" (dead link)
  2. ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin April 2 election results," accessed April 3, 2013
  3. ↑ Gazette Xtra, "State school superintendent seek second term," November 9, 2012 (dead link)
  4. ↑ Washington Post, “Christie is man of the hour for a divided Republican Party,” November 5, 2013
  5. ↑ Washington Post, “ Christie wins re-election in New Jersey,” November 5, 2013
  6. ↑ New Jersey Division of Elections, "Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor - Official List," August 8, 2013
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Quinnipiac University, "Booker Is Strongest Dem To Face Christie, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Say Show Me The Money Before Tax Cut Vote," October 17, 2012
  8. ↑ NorthJersey.com, "Democrat Barbara Buono running for governor in NJ," December 11, 2012
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 New Jersey State Board of Elections, "Primary candidate list for 2013 Governor," accessed April 4, 2013 (dead link)
  10. ↑ The Associated Press "Governor Christie Announces Re-Election Bid," November 26, 2012
  11. ↑ Politico, "Report: Cory Booker may take on Chris Christie," August 24, 2012
  12. ↑ The New York Times, "http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/nyregion/booker-wont-run-for-governor-eyes-senate-bid.html?hp&_r=1&," December 20, 2012
  13. ↑ The Star-Leger, "Sen. Richard Codey says he won't run for governor after weighing a campaign," January 25, 2013
  14. ↑ West Deptford Patch, "Steve Sweeney Won’t Run for Governor in ’13," January 28, 2013
  15. ↑ The Star-Ledger, "Sen. Sweeney to run for governor if Cory Booker declines, sources say," November 28, 2012
  16. ↑ The Huffington Post, "Steve Sweeney Considering Race For Governor Of New Jersey Against Chris Christie," December 6, 2012
  17. ↑ NJ.com, "Sen. Buono raises almost $250K in first month of campaigning," January 2, 2013
  18. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named quinpolll
  19. ↑ Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, November 27, 2012
  20. ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "Schedule of general elections as of May 11, 2012," accessed June 18, 2012
  21. ↑ Virginia General Assembly, "Title 24.2 Chapter 5 Code of Virginia," accessed December 10, 2012
  22. ↑ FOX News, “Democrat Terry McAuliffe wins Va. governor’s race, Fox News projects,” November 5, 2013
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Virginia State Board of Elections, “ Unofficial Results – General Election – November 5, 2013”
  24. ↑ Washington Post.com, "Cuccinelli revved up to race McAuliffe for Virginia governor," January 4, 2012
  25. ↑ Washington Post.com, "Cuccinelli revved up to race McAuliffe for Virginia governor," January 4, 2012
  26. ↑ The Washington Times, "Va. AG Cuccinelli will defy tradition, stay on job while campaigning," January 14, 2013
  27. ↑ "Robert Sarvis". http://mercatus.org/robert-sarvis. Retrieved on 2013-05-18. 
  28. ↑ Libertarian Party of Virginia, "LOVA Calls Special Convention for April 21," April 4, 2013
  29. ↑ The Independent Political Report, "Robert Sarvis Receives Libertarian Party of Virginia Nomination for Governor in 2013," April 22, 2013
  30. ↑ FoxNews.com, "Gatecrasher for Governor: Tareq Salahi wants to call Virginia statehouse home," April 25, 2012
  31. ↑ News Times, "In Virginia, the top newsmakers to watch in 2013," December 23, 2012
  32. ↑ The Washington Post, "Salahi announces independent run for Va. governor," January 14, 2013
  33. ↑ Pilot Online, Va. Beach's Parmele starts write-in campaign, August 20, 2013
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Bolling says major announcement set for March 14," February 7, 2013 (dead link)
  35. ↑ Bill Bolling Lieutenant Governor, "Press release: Bolling Says No to Possible Independent Campaign for Governor," March 12, 2013
  36. ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Could Bolling run for governor as an independent?" November 28, 2102
  37. ↑ Washington Post.com, "Virginia state Sen Petersen will run for governor adviser says," April 30, 2012
  38. ↑ Blue Virginia, "Larry Sabato: Mark Warner might run for governor, could appoint his senate successor," February 8, 2012
  39. ↑ NBC News, “ Democrat to win Lieutenant Governor’s race in Va.” November 5, 2013
  40. ↑ Huffington Post, “VA Election Results: Ralph Northam Beats E.W. Jackson in Lieutenant Governor’s Race,” November 5, 2013
  41. ↑ Washington Post, "Aneesh Chopra to run for Virginia lieutenant governor," July 12, 2012
  42. ↑ The Washington Post, "Snyder raises $450,000 for lieutenant governor bid," January 15, 2013
  43. ↑ Washington Post, "Scott Lingamfelter announces run for lieutenant governor," June 28, 2012
  44. ↑ Washington Post, "Virginia Sen. Stephen Martin plans to run for lt. governor," June 20, 2012
  45. ↑ Village News Online, "State Senator Martin decides to run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia," June 27, 2012
  46. ↑ Washington Post, "Jeannemarie Devolites-David running for lieutenant governor," September 24, 2012
  47. ↑ The Roanoke Times, "Former Del. Ward Armstrong won't run statewide in 2013," December 12, 2013
  48. ↑ Washington Post, "Ex-delegate Paula Miller considering a run for lieutenant governor," May 25, 2012
  49. ↑ The Republic, "Obenshain, Herring locked in tight battle for Va. attorney general; recount seems likely," November 6, 2013
  50. ↑ The Washington Post, "Obenshain, Herring in dead heat in Virginia attorney general’s race; recount expected," November 6, 2013
  51. ↑ NBC 12, "Race for Virginia Attorney General too close to call," November 5, 2013
  52. ↑ Politico, Virginia AG race: Democrat widens lead, November 13, 2013
  53. ↑ Washington Post, "Obenshain, Herring virtually tied in Virginia attorney general’s race; recount expected," November 6, 2013
  54. ↑ Washington Post, Obenshain concedes Virginia attorney general’s race to Herring, December 18, 2013
  55. ↑ Politico, "Recount for Virginia attorney general election possible," November 6, 2013
  56. ↑ The Washington Post, "Sen. Mark Herring to run for attorney general in 2013," July 24, 2012
  57. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named vulnerable
  58. ↑ Washington Post, "Del. Bell to run for Virginia attorney general," December 5, 2011
  59. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, " Election Results – General Election – November 5, 2013," accessed November 25, 2013
  60. ↑ Washington Post, "Herring wins Virginia attorney general race, elections board announces," November 25, 2013
  61. ↑ Blue Virginia, "Attorney General-Elect Herring: "I look forward to serving the people of Virginia as Attorney General," November 25, 2013
  62. ↑ Virginia State Board of Electiona, "2013 Attorney General Recount Race Results," accessed January 10, 2014
  63. ↑ Watchdog Virginia, "Undervotes loom large in AG recount bid," November 27, 2013
  64. ↑ The Richmond Times-Dispatch, "Obenshain lawyer raises possibility of contesting AG race," December 10, 2013
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 NYTimes.com: "A Virginia Recount Would Not Come Soon," November 8th, 2006
  66. ↑ MSNBC, Virginia Attorney General race still in limbo, November 7, 2013
  67. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TCTC
  68. ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, " Virginia Recounts and Contests – the Basics," accessed November 6, 2013
  69. ↑ ‘’Newsplex,’’ UPDATE: Attorney General's Race Too Close to Call, November 7, 2013
  70. ↑ Washington Post, Possible discrepancy in Fairfax absentee votes could affect count in AG race, November 7, 2013
  71. ↑ Hampton Roads, Virginia attorney general race narrows further, November 11, 2013
  72. ↑ ‘’Talk Radio News Service,’’ “Provisional Ballot Battle Looms Ahead of Virginia Recount,” November 7, 2013
  73. ↑ Politico, "Tuesday deadline in Virginia AG race," November 11, 2013
  74. ↑ ‘’Washington Post,’’ “ Virginia election officials purging almost 40,000 voters,” October 17, 2013
  75. ↑ ‘’Leesburg Today,’’ “AG’s Race Cound Hinge on Provisional Ballots,” November 7, 2013
  76. ↑ Fairfax County of Virginia, "Statement From Fairfax County Electoral Board on Nov. 9, 2013," accessed November 12, 2013
  77. ↑ Fairfax County Virginia, "Statement From Fairfax County Electoral Board," November 12, 2013
  78. ↑ NBC Washington, "In Va. Attorney General Race, Herring Ahead by 163 Votes," November 12, 2013
  79. ↑ The Charlotte Observer, "Democrat Herring widens lead in Va.'s AG race," November 12, 2013 (dead link)
  80. ↑ Politico, "Mark Obenshain to request recount in Virginia attorney general race," November 26, 2013
  81. ↑ Politico, "Mark Obenshain weighs recount in Virginia attorney general race," November 25, 2013
  82. ↑ Watchdog Virginia, "Undervotes loom large in AG recount bid," November 27, 2013
  83. ↑ Washington Post, Obenshain concedes Virginia attorney general’s race to Herring, December 18, 2013
  84. ↑ Politico, "Mark Obenshain to request recount in Virginia attorney general race," November 26, 2013
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2013 state executive official elections
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