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New York City's first Democrat mayor in 20 years and the approval of a tax on marjiuana are among highlights from Election Day results from around the country.

Democrat Bill de Blasio elected mayor of New York

Newly elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio waves to the crowd at his election night party
Newly elected New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio waves to the crowd at his election night party (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will have its first Democratic mayor in two decades.

Bill de Blasio, the city's public advocate, beat Republican Joe Lhota, a former chief of the metropolitan area's transit agency in yesterday's election.

De Blasio takes office Jan. 1st as the 109th mayor of the nation's largest city, replacing Republican Michael Bloomberg, who's been in office for 12 years.

McAuliffe elected governor of Va. over Cuccinelli

Terry McAuliffe wrested the governor's office from Republicans on Tuesday, capping an acrimonious campaign that was driven by a crush of negative advertising, non-stop accusations of dodgy dealings and a tea party-backed nominee who tested the limits of swing-voting Virginia.

McAuliffe received 47 percent to Cuccinelli's 46 percent, with 97 precincts reporting. He immediately promised to reach across party lines, starting with a pledge to meet with Republican lawmakers to find areas where they might collaborate.

"Over the next four years most Democrats and Republicans want to make Virginia a model of pragmatic leadership," McAuliffe said. "This is only possible if Virginia is the model for bipartisan cooperation."

McAuliffe, a Democrat, ran strong among unmarried women, voters who made abortion a top issue and those who called the suburbs of Washington, D.C., home, according to preliminary results of an exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks. Cuccinelli, meanwhile, fared well among tea party backers, gun owners and among the state's rural residents — but there were not enough of them to yield a victory.

CO says yes to taxing pot

Virginia Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D) speaks to the crowd during an election night event
Virginia Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D) speaks to the crowd during an election night event ( Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Colorado voters have agreed to tax marijuana at 25 percent. Proceeds of the newly legalized drug will go toward regulation and building schools.

Voters in Texas have rejected a plan to authorize bonds to turn the Houston Astrodome into a giant convention center.

That means the stadium likely will be torn down.

Voters in Washington state are saying no to the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. In early returns, the measure is failing 45 percent to 55 percent. Initiative 522 has been one of the costliest initiative fights in state history.

Detroit voters elect 1st white mayor in 4 decades

 Voters in predominantly black Detroit have elected the city's first white mayor in four decades.

Unofficial general election results last night show former medical center chief Mike Duggan defeating Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon 55 percent to 45 percent.

Detroit's finances currently are controlled by a state-appointed emergency manager, and by the time Duggan takes office in January, a federal judge may already have ruled the city bankrupt.

Duggan also will be expected to have solutions for lowering one of the nation's highest violent crime rates and fixing block upon block of crumbling neighborhoods.

Those are things Paulette Warren wants corrected.

Warren, who is black, voted Tuesday for Duggan and says: "It's all about who can do the job. It's not about color."

(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)

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