United States elections, 2005
The 2005 United States general elections were held on Tuesday, November 8 (not on November 1). These were off-year elections in which no members of the Congress were standing for election. However, there were two gubernatorial races, state legislative elections in two states, numerous citizen initiatives, mayoral races in several major cities, and a variety of local offices on the ballot.
[edit] Gubernatorial races
Only New Jersey, Virginia, and the Northern Mariana Islands featured off-year gubernatorial races in 2005.
[edit] New Jersey
Democratic U.S. Senator Jon Corzine defeated Republican businessman Doug Forrester, taking the open seat held by an acting governor since Democrat Jim McGreevey resigned.
| Candidate | Party | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Jon Corzine | Dem. | 53% |
| Doug Forrester | Rep. | 43% |
[edit] Virginia
Democratic Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine defeated former Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore in the race to succeed term-limited Governor (and Democrat) Mark Warner.
| Candidate | Party | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Kaine | Dem. | 52% |
| Jerry Kilgore | Rep. | 46% |
[edit] Northern Mariana Islands
Benigno Fitial, who belonged to the local Covenant Party, narrowly defeated independent Heinz Hofschneider and incumbent Republican Governor Juan N. Babauta to win the governorship in that U.S. territory.
[edit] Mayoral races
Many additional cities across the United States held mayoral elections; this list is representative, not inclusive. Nationally, the vast majority of mayors were reelected, often by wide margins, and there were few partisan upsets.
[edit] Allentown, Pennsylvania
Democrat Ed Pawlowski defeated former Mayor William Heydt, despite being targeted by fellow Democrat and incumbent Mayor, Roy C. Afflerbach.
[edit] Atlanta, Georgia
Democrat Shirley Franklin, the city's first female mayor, easily defeated both challengers to win reelection.
[edit] Boston, Massachusetts
Incumbent Thomas Menino easily defeated challenger Maura Hennigen.
[edit] Buffalo, New York
Democrat Byron Brown defeated Republican Kevin Helfer to replace the retiring Anthony Masiello.
[edit] Charlotte, North Carolina
Incumbent Republican Patrick McCrory was easily reelected.
[edit] Cincinnati, Ohio
Democrat Mark Mallory defeated David Pepper to become Cincinnati's mayor.
[edit] Cleveland, Ohio
Democratic challenger Frank Jackson defeated incumbent Jane Campbell.
[edit] Detroit, Michigan
Incumbent Democrat Kwame Kilpatrick won a come-from-behind victory over challenger Freman Hendrix.
[edit] Houston, Texas
Democratic mayor Bill White was reelected.
[edit] Minneapolis, Minnesota
R.T. Rybak easily defeated challenger Peter McLaughlin.
[edit] New York, New York
In New York City, incumbent Republican mayor Mike Bloomberg defeated former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.
[edit] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Democrat Bob O'Connor easily defeated Republican Joe Weinroth.
[edit] San Antonio, Texas
Democrat Phil Hardberger came back from behind to defeat fellow Democrat Julian Castro in the non-partisan run-off election.
[edit] San Diego, California
Republican Jerry Sanders easily defeated Democrat Donna Frye.
[edit] Seattle, Washington
Incumbent Greg Nickels was easily reelected.
[edit] St. Paul, Minnesota
Democrat Chris Coleman defeated incumbent Randy Kelly.
[edit] Citizen initiatives
As with mayoral races, every referendum item nationwide is not included
[edit] California
California had eight questions on the ballot for the voters to consider. The election was seen as a referendum on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (who is up for reelection in 2006), as he sponsored and actively campaigned for four propositions on the ballot, Propositions 74 - 77. All eight propositions failed by varying margins.
[edit] Maine
In Maine, voters decided a number of issues. Question 1 considered whether to repeal a law passed by the state legislature banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (see gay rights). The initiative to make discrimnation on the basis of sexual orientation legal failed, and the legislature's law was upheld for the first time by Mainers. The state was also considering whether to pass a constitutional amendment designed to lower property taxes for fishermen by taxing property based on current use, rather than potential resale value. The measure passed overwhelmingly.
[edit] New Jersey
As the last two elected governors (Christine Todd Whitman and Jim McGreevey) had resigned, forcing a series of acting governors, New Jersey considered whether to create the post of Lieutenant Governor; the measure passed.
[edit] Ohio
Ohio was considering whether to move the electoral redistricting process from the authority of the legislature to a non-partisan panel. Ohio also considered (in separate measures) whether to reduce individual financial contributions to political candidates, move election oversight to a bipartisan panel and away from the Secretary of State, and whether to allow all voters to vote early by mail. All four measures failed. These measures were placed on the ballot as a response to the controversies of the 2004 Presidential election in Ohio.
[edit] Texas
In Texas, 76% of voters supported a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, making it the 19th state to enact such a ban. This result was largely expected.
[edit] Washington State
An initiative to shorten the planned expansion of the Seattle Monorail was denied, meaning no expansion will be built at all. Four previous initiatives to cancel the project had been unsuccessful. However, a state Fuel Tax, which is earmarked for transportation improvements including the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, was not repealed.
[edit] Pennsylvania judicial election
Perceiving the Supreme Court's decisions as supporting corruption and secrecy in Harrisburg, voters refused to grant State Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro a retention vote. Nigro lost very narrowly, becoming the first justice in Pennsylvania history to lose a retention vote. Fellow Justice Sandra Schultz Newman was retained. The vote was closely connected with backlash against the Harrisburg establishment and the 2005 legislative pay raise which increased judges' and legislators' salaries.
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