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Woodruff voters and political experts alike spent this day absorbing the results of the offyear elections of 2013. The races were marked by low voter turnout, but the winners claimed bragging rights and mandates all the same. Ifill both parties scored wins, and several of the nations major cities made big breaks with the past. Some of the results also have implications that could reach all the way to the white house. Voters in two Eastern States rendered a split decision tuesday in high profile governors races. In new jersey, Republican Chris Christie scored a 22point re election victory in a mostly democratic state, boosting his possible president ial hopes in 2016. He touted his ability to overcome partisan divisions and challenged congress to do the same. Now listen, i know that if we can do this in trenton, new jersey, maybe the folks in washington, d. C. , should tune in their tvs right now, see how its done. cheers and applause ifill in virginia, democrat Terry Mcauliffe scored a narrow threepoint win, replacing republican bob mcdonnell. He, too, struck a bipartisan tone. I understand that emotions are raw. I have been there, i get it. So, while i promise you tonight that i will be a governor for all virginians, the real test is my actions when i take office. I expect you to hold me to my pledge to work with both sides. Ifill republican ken cuccinelli, a social conservative in the tea party mold, fell short, but he reassured supporters that their message had been heard. The more virginians see their liberty eroded through a bigger government and an outofcontrol Health Care Law, which is the leading example of it right now, the more brightly not the less brightly the more brightly that flame of liberty is going to burn in virginia. Thats why this battle is not over with this race. Ifill another Tea Party Candidate was defeated in alabamas first congressional district, where Bradley Byrne beat out fellow republican dean young. Election day also featured a series of big city races. In new york, bill de blasio became the first democrat elected mayor since 1989, thrashing republican joe lhota by nearly 50 points. Tackling inequality isnt easy; it never has been and it never will be. The challenges we face have been decades in the making. The problems we set out to address wont be solved overnight. But make no mistake, the people of this city have chosen a progressive path, and tonight we set forth on it together as one city. Ifill voters in bankrupt detroit threw their support behind mike duggan, the citys first white mayor in 40 years. I think mike duggans got a plan to get the city back together. Ifill duggan campaigned on his experience saving detroits largest Hospital System and promised to help the struggling city find its way back to financial health. If you vote for me, the record is turning things around, getting them fixed. And we can get this city going in the right direction. Ifill in boston, martin walsh won the race to succeed outgoing mayor tom menino, whod held the office for 20 years. Voters around the country also used direct initiatives to make their voices heard. In washington state, a measure to require the labeling of geneticallymodified food was defeated, and an effort to raise the minimum wage to 15 an hour in the Seattle Suburb of seatac was on its way to approval. Official results will not be certified until later this month. In colorado, voters agreed to a 25 tax on recreational marijuana, but they balked at raising income taxes to expand school funding. Tuesdays voting also sounded the likely death knell for the houston astrodome. It may be headed for demolition after supporters lost on a bond proposal to convert it to a convention site. Woodruff for more on the contests in virginia and new jersey, we turn to Jonathan Martin of the new york times. He joined me a short time ago from their newsroom. Jonathan martin, welcome. And lets start with virginia since thats a state thats lately been reflecting the way the whole country goes. Terry mccauliffe, former Democratic Party chair, takes the governors seat away from the republicans. What what were the voters saying here . Well, i think theyre saying that they want somebody in virginia who is more of a centrist than a movement conservative. Virginia has always been a state that rewards moderation in its politicians. What has changed though in recent years the center has moved. It was traditionally a centerright state and now its a pretty firm centrist state, and frankly in president ial Election Year its center even at a shade to the left. I think the message here is that they want to have governors who are going to focus on Kitchen Table issues jobs, roads, schools, those kinds of things. And they found Terry Mccauliffe to be somebody who would do that. Woodruff how did mcauliffe do it . Which voters did he end up winning over . The key for Terry Mccauliffe was northern virginia. Its a third of the states votes. The population hubs of fairfax, arlington, alexandria, Prince William county, and he did very well there. He did especially well among women and among that subset, among unmarried women. And that you can chalk up to the fact that he ran a very aggressive tv ad campaign. As anybody who lives in the washington, d. C. Area knows, focusing on his opponents views on issues like abortion rights and contraception. And i think thats what really helped him, helped Terry Mccauliffe with women in northern virginia. You know, its a very diverse state, and its got elements that are basically aplatchia. Its got elements that are basically, the northeast, and its got elements that are very much like the south, and the key, though, is that the Population Center is entirely in the suburban, centrist progressive part of the state, and thats where Terry Mccauliffe cleaned up. Woodruff of course the man he defeated went out saying the tea party had sent a message in this campaign. Contrast that with the kind of campaign Republican Chris Christie ran in new jersey. Reporter well real fast in virginia lets give ken cuccinnia credit. He was outspent 10 to one, largely abandoned by his own party, and erased what most thought would be a landslide a much more competitive race than the polls indicated. In new jersey, judy, you saw somebody who, in Chris Christie, who is a politician that has what is very clear a remarkable hold on the voters of his state. This is a republican running in a very democratic state. A state that has not gone for a republican president ial nominee since 1988, and governor Chris Christie won in a landslide. Why did he do that . I think a part of it is because he had a bit of a halo after his response to super storm sandy a year ago. His his response to that was widely praised in his state. I think its also because he had a forceful person expalt seen as somebody who is willing to get things done in trenton, not always a place where there is much that happens productively. And i think that, that trumped the traditional ideological challenges for republicans in new jersey. Woodruff he was a republican who ended up appealing to a lot of democratic voters. He sure did. If you look at the exit data he won a lot of democratic voters. He actually won the very people that his partys having trouble with on the National Level african americans, hispanics, women. His people are very much aware of that and were going all out last night for just those demographic inroads because obviously he wants to try making a case that he perhaps in 2016 could take that kind of strength on to the national scene. Woodruff and thats what people are going to be continuing to watch him for. Yes, indeed. Woodruff all right, Jonathan Martin, the new york times, thank you. Thank you, judy. Woodruff well turn to the results in the mayors races, right after the news summary. The Supreme Court returned today to the longstanding debate over the overlap of religion and government. The justices heard about the town council in greece, new york, opening meetings with a prayer. A lower court ruled against the practice because nearly all the prayers were christian. Well have more on the history of the case and the days arguments later in the program. The number of americans living in poverty is higher than the official census count by some three Million People. The Obama Administration reported today that the real figure is 49. 7 million americans, based on a new way of measuring. The higher number takes into account outofpocket medical costs and workrelated expenses that drive more people below the poverty line. The Obama Administrations Top Health Official told Congress Today that delaying implementation of the new Health Care Law is not an option. Kathleen sebelius, the health and Human Services secretary, said even with web site problems, theres still plenty of time to enroll. Well have highlights of her appearance later in the program. Secretary of state john kerry scrambled today to revive stalled peace talks between israel and the palestinians. He met with israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu, and then palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in the west bank town of bethlehem. And he said israels settlement building is a major stumbling block. We consider now, and have always considered, the settlements to be illegitimate. And i want to make it extremely clear that at no time did the palestinians in any way agree as a matter of going back to the talks that they somehow condone or accept the settlements. Woodruff netanyahu answered by accusing the palestinians of creating artificial crises to avoid facing tough decisions. Anxious scientisteds have foundest that Yasser Arafat may have died of poisoning. Al jazeera reported on the swiss teams testing of soil and bone samples taken from arafats grave. It said the results moderately support the idea that the cause of death of poloanium 210, a deadly radioactive substance. Arafat died nifrench Military Hospital in 2004. Carbon dioxide levels hit a record high in 2012, and theyre still climbing. The u. N. Weather agency reported today the heattrapping gas measured more than 393 parts per million. Thats 50 points higher than the level some scientists and environmental groups consider safe. Carbon dioxide stays in the air for 100 years or more, locking in the likelihood that temperatures will rise. On wall street today, the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 128 points to close above 15,746. The nasdaq fell nearly eight points to close just under 3,932. Still to come on the newshour the challenges ahead for yesterdays newly elected mayors; arguments over the balance of church and state before the Supreme Court; that ringing sound in millions of americans ears; more questions about the troubled rollout of health care reform; and new details on the trove of masterpieces found in a munich apartment. Ifill now, back to what voters had to say at the polls yesterday. Three big cities voted for big change, electing new mayors in detroit, boston and new york. For a look at the new faces and what they tell us about urban policy and politics, we turn to bruce katz, director of the metropolitan policy program at the brookings institution; and emily badger, writer for the atlantic cities, a web site that covers urban affairs. In a nutshell, briewrks give me a sense of what these three races tell you about the direction of urban politics and policy. I think all these elections were about people who were able to get through to the voters and say, we want our cities to work for everyone. Because, frankly, were still experiencing the aftermath of the great recession. Weve got to grow jobs. You just had this report on poverty numbers. The number of people in poverty and near poverty went up 26 Million People in the last decade. So mayors are on the ground. Theyre close to the ground, and what theyre hearing from voters is we need work on jobs, we need work on skills, we need work on housing and giving people access to opportunity. And these folks were able to get that message across. Ifill emily badger, it sounds a little like a cliche but is change a common theme in cities like new york, boston, and detroit. Change is definitely a huge story out of new york. Its a huge story out of boston, in a large part because were seeing this dramatic changing of the guard of who is sitting in this mayors seat. Bill beblawsio will be replacing Michael Bloomberg. The story is more dramatic in boston. Where the mayor has been sitting in that job 20 years. I think there are a lot of people in boston with political ambition who have been waiting a long time for him to retire to have a changing of the guard there. What were seeing is also the continuation of the departure of some mayors who have been on the scene for a very long time. This dates back to chicago with mayor daly. Weve seen this early in the year in los angeles. I mean, this is sort of like an opportunity to see some fresh faces in some of the largest cities in america where weve had the exact same people in charge for a very long time. Ifill i think tom menino is 24 years older than the guy replacing him. I want to go back to detroit. Thats the one that is not like the other two. It is a city under stress, quite dysfunctional and on the brink of bankruptcy. And i think what happened in detroit is they basically hired a problem solver, someone with deep roots in the corporate, civic, and medical community, and thats how detroit is going to come back. Its going to come back from these anchor institutions. You already see it in the downtown, along the woodward corridor, and the midtown. They really elected someone who seems like hes got the experience and the expertise to grow jobs, give people access to opportunity, in an otherwise fiscally challenged, very dysfunctional class. Ifill a majority of blacks elects the first white mayor in 40 years, and thats because what, pragmatism trumps all . Well, i think this is really the story of cities, particularly today as the federal government is absent, pragmatism trumps party, place trumps party, collaboration trumps conflict because most of these mayors come in. Theyve got to convene other stakeholders in their city and in the region, work with their governors to get stuff done. Ifill emilie, i want to go to new york because the interesting thing about bill deblasio is he is an Old Fashioned liberal. Hes the guy with the sandinistas. Hes unapologetic which is a big difference from mike bloomberg. The most interesting contrast in the new york race was not the contrast between bill deblasio and joe lhota. Its between bill deblasio and mike bloomberg. He built his campaign saying i will be the guy who will tackle the one thing people have been criticizing Michael Bloomberg for, and that is not paying attention to post, not paying attention to the poor, not focusing enough on the fact that all this great prosperity in new york is leaving a lot of people behind. Ifill not paying attention to the outer boroughs. The last time we saw a victory celebration in brooklyn. Right, right. Bill de blasio was adamant about the fact he is the progressive. He what happy to wear that mantle. I dont think it it he will be the type of liberal from 20 or 30 years ago. Hes not going to take us back to the 1980s, the early 1990s as a lot of critics have sort of claimed. He is pragmatic as well, in addition to being a progressive, ching hes going to have to prove to some of his critics in the coming months, in the coming years. But this is a really sort of dramatic change in the direction, and i think what we saw was voters sort of demanding that change in direction in new york. Ifill marty walsh in boston, elected with a lot of outside help from labor. Sure. Ifill oldfashioned democratic constituencies, including really digging into the latino and black vote. Well, boston is changing, like all cities are changing. Theyre really becoming majorityminority. Theyre just ahead of the entire country. So for mayors to succeed, they have to build these multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial coalitions. And thats what i think walsh was able to do. He does build on a very solid legacy of mayor menino. Menino was in to affordable housing, children and fleernlg and the innovative economy before a lot of other mayors. Theres a solid platform for him to build on but he was able to do it in this very expansive ways. Ifill i wonder if the common theme isnt that they all are interested in economic recoveries in different degrees. One of the things thats so interesting to me thinking about wh