New Jersey and Virginia elected G.O.P. governors yesterday while New York City continued to ride with Mayor Bloomberg, an Independent.

Three important races were decided yesterday: Both New Jersey and Virginia elected new governors while New York City decided on its mayor.
 
In New Jersey, Democrat Jon Corzine was defeated by Christopher J. Christie, who, according to the New York Times, was the first Republican in 12 years to be elected governor of the state. Jon was the incumbent official, and he spent twice as much on his campaign than his competitor did. He also received three visits from President Barack Obama in effort to improve his bid for re-election.
 
But while New Jersey uncharacteristically went from blue to red, Virginia returned to its Republican leanings. President Obama carried the Commonwealth in last year's presidential eleciton, and it voted Tim Kaine to office in the last gubernatorial race. However, on Tuesday, the citizens chose G.O.P. candidate Robert F. McDonnell to lead Virginia over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds.
 
Those races were particularly important for political pundits and the White House because they were the first major races since President Obama's electiona year ago, and they could reflect the nation's moods about his policies.
 
The president responded by saying that the state elections were decided by “very local issues that didn’t involve the president."
 
New York City also held an important mayoral election yesterday, with Independent incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg running against Democrat William Thompson Jr. Mayor Bloomberg was elected into a third term after being the favorite in many predominantly Black and Hispanic districts.