Chris Christie might be the only hope for the Republicans going into the 2016 presidential election.

In a prominently blue state, a red governor has been elected. Republican governor Chris Christie beat Democratic candidate Barbara Buono on November 5^th, 2013. In New Jersey, there are 700,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans.

When the election results were announced, it was ascertained that Christie won the popular vote with 1,252,100 votes to Barbara Buono’s 790,245, making the percentages roughly come out to 60% to 38%.

Christie campaigned thoroughly throughout New Jersey and made it clear that he wanted to connect with women and both African American and Hispanic voters. He won the majority of those three groups of voters, which is inconsistent with poling for Republicans in New Jersey in the past. In addition, his popularity in the state was arguably mostly due to his work during Hurricane Sandy. His work during Sandy was considered heroic, and he gained much publicity for it.

A Glen Rock Sophomore said, “His work for Sandy was very helpful to the community and he did his job to secure the safety of the people.”

Christie has stated over and over again he does not want to go with the “typical” tea party conservative.  He stated that he does not want to get into the labeling that Washington, D.C. does, and he just wants to improve the state of New Jersey. Christie was on “Face the Nation” and said, “Let me explain what I mean. On governing, it’s about doing things, accomplishing things, reaching across the aisle and crafting accomplishments.”

One Glen Rock sophomore said about Christie “He will bring change and improvement to New Jersey and the Republican Party.”

With another four years on his term, Christie will look to make a difference in the state of New Jersey. It is almost certain that he will make a run for the presidency in 2016, so his term might get cut short. Whatever the case may be, he will need to gain much needed support from other states before moving onto the national stage.