2007 election results summary
— -- Kentucky and Mississippi elected governors Tuesday.
Legislatures were up in Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia, numerous cities elected mayors and dozens of states voted on referendums and constitutional amendments.
This page has tallies and summaries of some of the more interesting and important races.
Click on a state name to jump to its results: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington
ARIZONA
Mayor
Tucson (100%)
W -- Bob Walkup* (R) 39,636 (72%)
Dave Croteau (O) 15,638 (28%)
In his quest for a third term, Walkup, a 70-year-old retired engineer, touted upcoming development including a street car project, downtown revitalization projects and bicycle paths. Croteau challenged Walkup on issues including rapid growth, minimal water resources and a lack of public transportation options.
CALIFORNIA
Mayor
San Francisco (NP) (0%)
W -- Gavin Newsom* 33,432 (77%)
Ahimsa Porter Sumchai 686 (2%)
Others 9,044 (21%)
Eleven candidates of diverse backgrounds — including a sex club owner, a vegan taxi driver, the author of a book on naked yoga, a college professor and a florist — took their shot against the popular Newsom. Despite a sex scandal, Newsom was the only candidate to garner serious financial support. One-third of his re-election monies were raised by his former campaign manager, who resigned in January upon learning of the short-lived affair between his wife, also a former mayoral aide, and Newsom.
CONNECTICUT
Mayors
Hartford (100%)
W -- Eddie Perez* (D) 6,217 (49%)
James McCauley (R) 703 (6%)
I. Charles Mathews (O) 4,456 (35%)
Others 1,422 (11%)
Strong fundraising and momentum from economic development helped two-term incumbent Perez overcome fallout from a state investigation into his use of a city contractor for house renovation and the distribution of no-bid contracts to friends. Perez fought against increasing the number of homeless shelters in the city. Mathews, a former deputy mayor and city councilman, won the endorsement of former mayor Mike Peters, who once supported Perez.
Bridgeport (100%)
W -- Bill Finch (D) 8,969 (74%)
Michael Garrett (R) 1,890 (16%)
Others 1,210 (10%)
Finch pledged to make the city one of the most environmentally friendly in the country, to control waste in the education budget and to freeze property taxes for the elderly. Incumbent John Fabrizi chose not to seek re-election after admitting cocaine use while in office and testifying on behalf of a 22-year-old convicted sex offender who twice impregnated a 13-year-old.
INDIANA
Mayors
Indianapolis (98%)
Bart Peterson* (D) 74,957 (47%)
W -- Greg Ballard (R) 81,088 (51%)
Fred Peterson (O) 3,685 (2%)
Ballard, an ex-Marine and self-employed leadership and management consultant, waged a come-from-behind battle in his first run for office. Ballard accused incumbent Bart Peterson of favoring the city's wealthy and destabilizing the middle class. Ballard opposed giving tax breaks to a luxury condominium complex. Bart Peterson defended his projects and insisted the city was going in a positive direction despite public uproar about property taxes soaring in the past year.
Fort Wayne (97%)
W -- Tom Henry (D) 31,721 (60%)
Matt Kelty (R) 21,155 (40%)
Henry, a five-term city councilman and an insurance executive, ran on a platform that promoted greater taxing autonomy, strengthening the city's urban core and improving the 911 system.
U.S. Rep. Mark Souder withdrew his endorsement of Kelty after the candidate was indicted on nine criminal charges involving perjury and violation of campaign finance laws. Kelty, an architect and businessman, said he was not guilty.
IOWA
Mayor
Des Moines (NP) (100%)
W -- Frank Cownie* 6,450 (80%)
Diana Newberry 1,617 (20%)
Cownie's popularity — and the city's prosperity during his tenure — left him alone in the field. Cownie ran as an environmental advocate supporting hybrid vehicles and green tax breaks. The challenge by Newbery, a Socialist perennial candidate who ran for governor of Iowa last year and the Los Angeles City Council in 2005, was more quixotic than threatening.
KENTUCKY
Governor(100%)
W -- Steven Beshear (D) 619,686 (59%)
Ernie Fletcher* (R) 435,895 (41%)
Beshear, a former attorney general and lieutenant governor, promised to increase state revenue by pushing a constitutional amendment on casino gaming, a move opposed by Fletcher, an ordained Baptist minister. Fletcher was left vulnerable by a scandal related to trading state jobs for support, which dogged him through his first term. Throughout the campaign, Beshear constantly reminded voters of the scandal and made ethics a key issue in the race.
MAINE
Statewide ballot issues
Tribal slot machines (88%)
Yes 115,782 (48%)
W -- No 123,557 (52%)
Would have let the Passamaquoddy tribe have slot machines at its harness track.
Economic development (88%)
Yes 121,741 (51%)
No 115,977 (49%)
Would authorize a $55 million bond for research and development in areas such as biotechnology, forestry and agriculture, and manufacturing.
Environmental conservation (88%)
W -- Yes 150,905 (63%)
No 88,460 (37%)
Will permit a $35.5 million bond for environmental conservation. The money will be spent on preservation of open spaces, updating the handicapped-accessible areas and plumbing facilities at parks, and planning river redevelopment.
Term limits (88%)
Yes 78,508 (33%)
W -- No 158,486 (67%)
Would have allowed legislators to serve six consecutive two-year terms, instead of the current four terms.
MARYLAND
Mayor
Baltimore (99%)
W -- Sheila Dixon* (D) 34,457 (88%)
Elbert Henderson (R) 4,806 (12%)
Dixon became the overwhelming favorite after prevailing in the Democratic primary with 63% of the vote. She made news by softening her anti-slot machine stance, saying slots might be a good fit for the city. Henderson lost his mayoral bid in 2004 to now-Gov. Martin O'Malley.
MICHIGAN
Mayor
Flint (NP) (100%)
Dayne Walling 11,853 (49%)
W -- Don Williamson* 12,434 (51%)
Williamson, a 73-year-old multimillionaire businessman, dipped deeply into his own account to fund his campaign. Williamson overcame criticism of his criminal distant past — he served more than three years in prison in the 1960s for crimes related to bad checks. Walling, a 33-year-old Rhodes scholar with multiple degrees who worked in the District of Columbia government, had promised to revitalize the city.
MISSISSIPPI
Governor(98%)
W -- Haley Barbour* (R) 408,123 (58%)
John Eaves (D) 292,171 (42%)
Barbour, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, touted his leadership role in leading the state's economic recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Eaves, a trial lawyer who campaigned with Bible in hand, accused his opponent of being controlled by the "money-changers," a charge Barbour denied.
Lieutenant governor (98%)
W -- Phil Bryant (R) 409,384 (59%)
Jamie Franks (D) 284,921 (41%)
Mississippi Senate rules give the lieutenant governor power to shape which laws are debated and who sits on powerful committees. Bryant ran on a conservative platform of fighting illegal immigration and strengthening ethics in government. Franks promised to give the working class a voice in Mississippi politics.
Insurance commissioner (98%)
Gary Anderson (D) 297,021 (43%)
W -- Mike Chaney (R) 394,221 (57%)
After 31 years, the nation's longest-serving elected insurance commissioner, George Dale, was defeated in the Democratic primary in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's damages. Chaney, a state senator and small businessman, pledged he wouldn't work for special interest groups and refused to take campaign donations from large insurance companies. Chaney said his top priority would be assisting storm-battered residents on the Gulf Coast.
Legislative elections
Republicans took control of the state Senate last year for the first time since 1870. Democrats are in firm control of the House. All legislative seats were up for election.
State Senate
District 2 (87%)
Ralph Doxey* (R) 4,348 (42%)
W -- Bill Stone (D) 6,101 (58%)
Stone, a small-town mayor in Ashland, pushed for reducing college tuition and instituting a pre-kindergarten program across the state. Stone's win hurt Republicans, who considered this race key for holding on to a slight majority. Doxey pledged to work so that "education dollars reach the classroom" and school administrators were held equally responsible as teachers for students' results.
State House
District 66 (100%)
W -- Cecil Brown* (D) 3,137 (65%)
Cory Wilson (R) 1,684 (35%)
After Gov. Barbour and Senate leaders resisted allocating more funds to vulnerable school districts, House Education Committee Chairman Brown joined with other representatives to block $10 million worth of programs supported by Barbour, including a dyslexia-screening program for elementary students. The governor accused the second-term representative and others involved of playing politics. Brown said the charge was "baloney." Wilson is a lawyer, specializing in corporate and commercial defense cases.
District 71 (100%)
John Reeves* (R) 1,436 (46%)
W -- Adrienne Wooten (D) 1,672 (54%)
Wooten, an attorney on her first run for office, pushed for more accessible health care, funding for pre-kindergarten and increased workforce training. Reeves, who had 23 years of legislative experience, faced a demographic shift in his South Jackson district toward the Democratic Party resulting from white flight to the suburbs. He had proposed increasing the cigarette tax.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mayor
Manchester (100%)
Tom Donovan (D)8,842 (46%)
W -- Frank Guinta* (R)10,321 (54%)
Guinta touted his record of tax cuts, toughness on crime and improving public services. Donovan's camp uploaded to YouTube what may have been the first ad on a video-sharing website in New Hampshire's mayoral election history. The clip criticized Guinta for neglecting education and used footage from a debate where Guinta said he was too busy keeping the city safe to improve education. Guinta's campaign called the video a "desperate attack."
NEW JERSEY
Mayor
Hamilton (99%)
Glen Gilmore* (D) 12,527 (49%)
W -- John Bencivengo (R) 13,126 (51%)
Bencivengo, a local businessman, argued Gilmore was too lax on the issue of gangs and said the city had paid too much for land purchased from a campaign contributor. Gilmore, who achieved fame in 2001 for his response to the anthrax scare, accused Bencivengo of trying to exploit post-9/11 fears by selling an alleged anthrax-proof hand lotion to postal workers.
Statewide ballot issues
Stem cell research (95%)
Yes 575,618 (47%)
W -- No 647,228 (53%)
Would have authorized $450 million in bonds to fund stem cell research.
Environment (95%)
W -- Yes 650,157 (54%)
No 554,957 (46%)
Will provide $200 million to sustain environmental preservation programs, including preventing overdevelopment, protecting farmland, forests, beaches and marine habitat, as well as creating urban parks.
Mental disabilities (95%)
W -- Yes 708,052 (60%)
No 476,652 (40%)
Modifies the ballot description regarding persons with mental disabilities from the current phrase "idiot or insane person" to "person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to lack the capacity to understand the act of voting" in describing those persons who shall be denied the right to vote.
Legislative elections
With all 120 seats up for grabs, Democrats maintained majorities in both the Assembly and Senate, increasing their Senate advantage to 23-17.
State Senate
District 1 (91%)
W -- Jeff Van Drew (D) 25,176 (56%)
Nicholas Asselta* (R) 20,002 (44%)
Van Drew accused Asselta of having cozy connections with state lobbyists. Asselta accused Van Drew of accepting illegal campaign donations funneled from the Camden County Democratic Party, which is at the center of a bribery scandal.
District 2 (0%)
James Whelan (D) 0 (0%)
James McCullough* (R) 0 (0%)
Whelan is the former mayor of Atlantic City; McCullough was mayor of nearby Egg Harbor Township before rising to the state Senate. Whelan accused McCullough of allowing growth to sprawl out of control in Atlantic County. McCullough attempted to connect Whelan to the powerful political machine of Camden County.
District 12 (99%)
Ellen Karcher* (D) 22,738 (46%)
W -- Jennifer Beck (R) 26,656 (54%)
Beck accused Karcher of taking advantage of a tax break meant for farmers to save almost $250,000 on her property taxes. Karcher accused Beck of supporting spending cuts in a popular state after-school program.
State Assembly
The top two are elected.
District 1 (91%)
W -- Nelson Albano* (D) 24,678 (29%)
W -- Matthew Milam (D) 21,682 (25%)
Norris Clark (R) 19,441 (23%)
Michael Donohue (R) 20,010 (23%)
Albano fought off accusations of favoring amnesty for illegal immigrants and accepting tainted money funneled from Camden County Democrats. Albano and Milam pointed to Donohue's simultaneous employment at four different state jobs to suggest that he'd been padding his pension.
District 12 (99%)
Amy Mallet (D) 22,780 (24%)
Mike Panter* (D) 23,747 (25%)
W -- Caroline Casagrande (R) 24,280 (26%)
W -- Declan O'Scanlon (R) 24,416 (26%)
O'Scanlon tried to position himself as an outsider, accusing Panter of accepting funds from corrupt Camden County party officials. Panter said O'Scanlon used his own political connections to land a $45,000 contract for his consulting firm.
NEW MEXICO
Mayor
Las Cruces (NP) (100%)
William Mattiace* 5,671 (50%)
Ken Miyagishima 5,745 (50%)
Mattiace handily defeated popular city Councilman Miyagishima last time out. But Miyagishima made waves with his lone vote against a city plan to annex land for a large development project, The Vistas at Presidio, which could double the city's size. Miyagishima's anti-growth caution is popular with many city natives.
NEW YORK
Mayors
Niagara Falls (100%)
W -- Paul Dyster (D) 8,050 (79%)
Candra Thomason (R) 2,112 (21%)
Dyster's victory was seen by many as a sign that voters were fed up with machine politics at City Hall. Mayor Vince Anello was forced to drop a re-election bid after being investigated by the FBI. Anello beat Dyster in a controversial 2003 primary by 300 votes, an election decided by the disqualification of ballots in some precincts. This time, Dyster beat party-endorsed Lewis "Babe" Rotella in the primary, all but assuring election in a heavily Democratic city.
Utica (98%)
W -- David Roefaro (D) 5,955 (48%)
Timothy Julian* (R) 4,828 (39%)
Edward Hanna (O) 1,569 (13%)
City Councilman Roefaro proved too formidable a foe for Julian. Roefaro attacked Julian on the city's high crime and flagging economy, and the entry into the race of wild card candidate Hanna, 85, an eccentric but popular former mayor, sunk the incumbent. It was Hanna's resignation in 2000 — following news of a sexual harassment suit against him by four male assistants — that originally gave Julian the job.
Mount Vernon (87%)
W -- Clinton Young (D) 6,067 (58%)
Janet Snyder (R) 658 (6%)
Ernest Davis* (O) 3,787 (36%)
Young, a former Westchester County legislator, squeaked past three-term incumbent Davis by 376 votes in the Democratic primary. Davis stayed in the race as a third-party candidate, even after FBI agents seized City Hall records as part of a probe into city trash-hauling contracts. Davis called the raid politically motivated, but the investigation vaulted Young into office.
NORTH CAROLINA
Mayors
Charlotte (100%)
Beverly Earle (D) 37,424 (39%)
W -- Patrick McCrory* (R) 58,360 (61%)
McCrory triumphed easily in a campaign centered around how to handle the city's growth, from whether to repeal a controversial transportation tax to making mayor a full-time job. State Rep. Earle came under fire for a bill she proposed that McCrory said encouraged predatory "pay day" loans.
Durham (NP) (100%)
W -- William Bell* 18,576 (58%)
Thomas Stith 13,289 (42%)
Bell fended off an aggressive, well-funded challenge from city Councilor Stith, who attacked his record on crime. Bell cited police data showing crime dropped 10% since he took office in 2001, while saying Stith's council votes contradicted his platform.
OHIO
Mayors
Canton (100%)
W -- William Healy II (D) 8,212 (53%)
Janet Creighton* (R) 7,178 (47%)
Healy, the son of a prominent former state legislator, hammered Creighton over a 21% increase in crime in the last year. Creighton pointed to an overall drop in crime — and an increase in jobs — during her tenure. She painted Healy as career politician interested in the mayor's job because he faced term limits as a state legislator, but Healy's aggressive tactics won out.
Columbus (100%)
W -- Michael Coleman* (D) 68,622 (70%)
Bill Todd (R) 29,965 (30%)
Popular incumbent Coleman cited a good record on jobs and development, fending off Todd's attacks on crime and education. A well-known GOP activist, Todd stirred controversy with a series of radio ads that featured screaming crime victims, and had a private institute he runs sue the school district over its funding scheme.
OREGON
Statewide ballot issues
Property rights (74%)
W -- Yes 570,491 (61%)
No 359,701 (39%)
Modifies Measure 37, an initiative passed in 2004 that allows property owners to demand compensation from state or local government if their property value decreased because of land use or environmental regulations. Measure 49 will "limit this compensation and restrict large development."
Tobacco taxes (74%)
Yes 374,091 (40%)
W -- No 558,588 (60%)
Would have increased the cigarette tax by 84.5 cents per pack — to $2.02 — to fund health insurance for about 100,000 children now lacking coverage.
PENNSYLVANIA
Mayors
Philadelphia (97%)
W -- Michael Nutter (D) 222,805 (83%)
Al Taubenberger (R) 46,040 (17%)
John Staggs (O) 1,002 (0%)
City Councilman Nutter won easily with an anti-crime, anti-corruption platform in this overwhelmingly Democratic city. The victory was set up in the primary, where he had surged from the back of the pack to handily defeat four opponents.
Pittsburgh (100%)
W -- Luke Ravenstahl* (D) 43,257 (63%)
Mark DeSantis (R) 23,884 (35%)
Tony Oliva (O) 504 (1%)
Ryan Scott (O) 548 (1%)
The youngest mayor of a major U.S. city prevailed despite tough questions regarding a claim that the Fraternal Order of Police had attempted to buy him with a $5,000 campaign contribution and an endorsement. Ravenstahl, 27, said he refused the deal, which included extending police vacation time by one week and canceling the requirement for officers to live within city limits, on principle. DeSantis got the endorsement but denied wrongdoing, saying he doesn't back the residency requirement.
Hazleton (100%)
W -- Lou Barletta* (R) 3,530 (90%)
John Medashefski (O) 405 (10%)
Barletta's victory was assured after he rocketed to national attention last year with a proposal to fine businesses and landlords who employed or rented to illegal immigrants and make English the town's official language. The controversial ordinance was later struck down by a federal court. Barletta trounced his Republican primary opponent, and won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate. Medashefski, a late entrant to the race, toyed with running as a Republican but instead attempted to run to Barletta's right on the Libertarian line.
RHODE ISLAND
Mayor
Woonsocket (NP) (100%)
Todd Brien 3,021 (44%)
Michael Mello 0 (0%)
W -- Susan Menard* 3,923 (57%)
Last election, seven-term incumbent Menard thumped Brien, a police detective, winning two-thirds of the vote. Things were closer this time, after the mayor was revealed to have given a plagiarized commencement speech to a local high school last spring. But Menard successfully ran on her record, saying she had brought millions in development to the city and kept the budget in the black without raising taxes.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Mayor
Charleston (NP) (98%)
Omar Brown 270 (2%)
William Gregorie 4,629 (29%)
Marc Knapp 877 (5%)
W -- Joe Riley* 10,299 (64%)
Riley faced criticism over the deaths of nine firefighters in a June furniture store blaze, yet handily won his ninth term. Brown, a police officer, grabbed the media's attention by shooting a man in a convenience store confrontation.
TEXAS
Mayor
Houston (NP) (100%)
Amanda Ulman 8,798 (8%)
Josey Wales 7,023 (6%)
W -- Bill White* 101,277 (86%)
White's successful handling of the influx of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina helped him win re-election in 2005 with 91% of the vote. He won his third and final term almost as easily, and is considered a possible candidate for governor in 2010.
Statewide ballot issues
Student loans (98%)
W -- Yes 698,317 (66%)
No 360,521 (34%)
Will provide up to $500 million in general obligation bonds to finance educational loans to students.
Eminent domain (98%)
W -- Yes 842,071 (80%)
No 206,926 (20%)
Will allow governmental entities to sell property acquired through eminent domain back to the previous owners.
Disabled veterans (98%)
W -- Yes 905,561 (86%)
No 144,961 (14%)
Will exempt all or part of the residences of certain totally disabled veterans from real estate taxes.
Cancer research (98%)
W -- Yes 657,090 (62%)
No 407,112 (38%)
Will create the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and authorize up to $3 billion in bonds over 10 years to finance its research into the causes of and the cures for cancer.
UTAH
Mayors
Ogden (NP) (100%)
Matthew Godfrey* 6,450 (51%)
Susan Van Hooser 6,269 (49%)
A judge threw out a lawsuit seeking to have Godfrey's name removed from the ballot for an alleged technical campaign violation. Van Hooser, who came within three points of the mayor in an open primary, assailed the mayor's closeness with business interests and decision to use city funds to invest in a privately run shopping center. Godfrey said the outside investors he wooed revived an old railroad town in decline. He boasted of 6,000 new jobs.
Salt Lake City (NP) (100%)
W -- Ralph Becker 25,880 (64%)
Dave Buhler 14,693 (36%)
Salt Lake City's open primary usually leaves two Democrats in the general election. Yet Buhler, a popular former GOP state senator and city councilman, was able to pull a second-place finish in a crowded field. But the natural Democratic advantage carried Becker to victory in a race where both candidates struggled to highlight their small differences on policy.
Statewide ballot issue
School vouchers (95%)
For 182,550 (38%)
W -- Against 298,887 (62%)
Voters killed the nation's first statewide school voucher program that promised tax dollars ($500 to $3,000) for private tuition, no matter how much a family earned or whether kids were in bad schools.
VIRGINIA
Board of Supervisors
Prince William County (100%)
Sharon Pandak (D) 24,336 (45%)
Corey Stewart* (R) 30,318 (55%)
Stewart's hard-line stance against illegal immigration brought attention to this race. Pandak accused Stewart of using county-paid advertising for a board meeting on immigration to gain name recognition before the election.
Local ballot issue
Fairfax County transportation (100%)
Yes 152,712 (82%)
No 34,029 (18%)
Authorizes $110 million in bonds for improvement of highways, parking, pedestrian development and early costs of connecting with Washington's light rail.
Legislative elections
Democrats made gains in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 23-17 majority. The GOP has a 57-40 edge in the House of Delegates. Democrats used voter-rich Northern Virginia to make their strides. All legislative seats were up for election.
State Senate
District 34 (100%)
W -- Chap Petersen (D) 25,505 (55%)
Devolites Davis* (R) 20,684 (45%)
Petersen was helped by a district that was once reliably conservative but had moved to the middle in recent years. He accused Jeannemarie Devolites Davis of riding her deep-pocketed husband's coattails. (Tom Davis is a U.S. congressman.) The Republican positioned herself to the left of Petersen on gun control and gay rights. More than $2.5 million was spent on the race.
District 37 (100%)
Janet Oleszek (D) 18,505 (50%)
Kenneth Cuccinelli* (R) 18,596 (50%)
The Family Foundation, a Richmond-based conservative activist group, graded Cuccinelli 92 out of 100 on its legislative scorecard. But the area has trended Democratic in recent years, and school board member Oleszek argued that Cuccinelli was out of step with voters on the issues.
District 39 (100%)
W -- George Barker (D) 19,872 (51%)
Jay O'Brien* (R) 19,026 (49%)
Barker attacked abusive-driver fees on certain violations in an election where traffic problems and immigration were divisive issues. O'Brien backed local efforts to deny illegal immigrants government services.
State House of Delegates
District 86 (83%)
Jay Donahue (D) 7,423 (51%)
Thomas Rust* (R) 7,254 (49%)
Rust bucked his party to help increase transportation funding. Immigration issues took center stage, with Donahue supporting centers for day laborers.
WASHINGTON
Statewide ballot issues
Insurance claims (37%)
Yes 450,147 (56%)
No 355,018 (44%)
Would allow policyholders to sue their insurance companies for up to triple damages, plus legal fees, when insurers unreasonably deny or delay certain claims. Some health insurance carriers would be exempt.
Tax increases (37%)
Yes 430,463 (54%)
No 370,331 (46%)
Would require two-thirds legislative approval or voter approval for tax increases, legislative approval of fee increases, and certain data published on tax legislation.
Election Staff — Editor: John Bacon; Lead writers: George Altman and Monica Hortobagyi; Contributing: Colleen M. Sullivan, Alan Gomez, Barbara Pearson, Joe Eaton, Melissa Weiss; Technical: Monica Baughman, Robert J. Barbrow, Michael James, Hassan Shahid; Intern: Karen Hoop
Totals via Associated Press