Chris Christie Unseats Corzine in New Jersey

Christopher J. Christie, a Republican former United States attorney who said he would vanquish corruption from the halls of New Jersey government, won the New Jersey governor’s race on Tuesday, defeating the incumbent, Gov. Jon S. Corzine, and striking a blow against the Democratic party on a national stage.

Mr. Christie, who accused Mr. Corzine of leading the state into economic turmoil, edged out Mr. Corzine by about four percentage points.

Mr. Christie’s victory was a surprising outcome to a bruising and bitterly fought race that often descended into personal attacks by both candidates. Although the campaign focused mainly on local issues, including a statewide corruption scandal, Republicans across the country were quick to portray Mr. Christie’s win as a defeat for President Obama, who was in the state campaigning for Mr. Corzine just a few days ago.

The decision by the White House to throw Mr. Obama into the race was a tacit acknowledgment that a defeat for Mr. Corzine would be interpreted as a rebuke of the president, potentially affecting the president’s ability to pass major legislation and the public’s perceptions of the Democratic influence.

Republicans also captured the night’s other major gubernatorial race, in Virginia, where Robert F. McDonnell, a former state attorney general, defeated the Democratic candidate, R. Creigh Deeds, a stark reversal of fortune for Democrats who have held control in Richmond for the past eight years.

But in a significant defeat for the more right-wing faction of the G.O.P., a Democratic candidate captured a Congressional seat in upstate New York that had stayed in Republican hands for more than a century.

Bill Owens, the Democrat, defeated an upstart Conservative party candidate, Douglas L. Hoffman, who had gained support from prominent conservatives like former Gov. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich. A more moderate Republican nominee withdrew from the race days before the election, after pressure from national officials. Mr. Hoffman conceded the race.

In Maine, voters remained divided on a referendum to reject a law that would allow same-sex marriage in the state. Voters who opposed gay marriage held a slight edge after more than three-quarters of the vote had been counted.

In another New England race, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino won an unprecedented fifth term, defeating his fellow Democrat, City Councilor Michael F. Flaherty Jr. It was the toughest re-election fight of Mr. Menino’s career, but he relied on his popularity and impressive political machine to neutralize charges from his opponent that the city needed a change.

In New York City, Michael R. Bloomberg won a third term, but his margin of victory - 5 percentage points - was relatively narrow, particularly when juxtaposed to the fact that the mayor had vastly outspent his Democratic challenger, William C. Thompson, the city’s comptroller.

Off-year races are often sleepy affairs, and the turnout, for the most part, appeared to be low on Tuesday. Few long lines were reported, even in New Jersey, the scene of the day’s toughest-to-call race. Voter apathy seemed to belie the more dramatic narrative that has been hoisted on Tuesday’s races, which political officials have described as high-stakes contests that could shape next year’s Congressional agenda and reveal deep divisions within a Republican party seeking a return path to power.

In New Jersey, a fierce battle between Mr. Corzine and Mr. Christie quickly deteriorated into ad hominem attacks. Both candidates spent the final day of the campaign in a flurry of last-minute campaigning. Shaking hands with voters in Bayonne around noon, Mr. Corzine pointed to the sunny blue sky above the Broadway Diner and called it a good omen — but only after buttonholing the city’s mayor, Mark Smith, leaning in close and growling at him to “drag, drag” people to the polls if necessary.

Mr. Christie held the hands of his youngest son and daughter as he walked into a voting booth in Mendham, N.J. at 7 a.m. to cast his vote. Acknowledging the uncertainty of a race that remained, in its final hours, still too close to call, Mr. Christie told his supporters, “Life will be a lot different tomorrow, one way or another.”

David Kocieniewski, Suzanne Moore, Adam Nagourney, Jeremy W. Peters, Nate Schweber and Ian Urbina contributed reporting.