In a state that went overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney, Jay Nixon was re-elected to a second term as governor of Missouri.
His margin of victory wasn鈥檛 quite as large as 2008, but Nixon beat his Republican challenger Dave Spence by more than 10 points.
In an address to his supports at the Pageant in St. Louis, Nixon called his victory a result of voters putting the people鈥檚 business above petty politics.
"Missourians said because we've been able to work together, because we're putting the common good first, we are moving in the right direction," he said.
Perhaps reflecting the fact that Romney outdistanced President Obama by 11 points, Nixon spoke of focusing his attention on the shared values of the state.
"Instead of simply demonizing the other political party, we bring Democrats, Republicans , independents together. Instead of pitting business against labor, or urban folks against rural folks, or one side of the state against the other, we embrace the common values that we all share," he said.
Nixon will again face a GOP-controlled General Assembly, with a veto-proof majority in the state House.
Spence called Nixon to congratulate him and wish him well, but his concession speech was a bit bitter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a tough, tough year," Spence said, looking very dour. "People are slinging arrows at you and you鈥檙e guilty until proven innocent.鈥�
Those 'arrows' were ads paid for by Nixon that criticized Spence for voting to delay paying back his bank鈥檚 TARP bailout. Spence sued Nixon for the ads, which he says are false.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 beneath him," Spence said after his concession speech. "But he won and I didn鈥檛, so if he can sleep at night I guess that鈥檚 what he has to do.鈥�
Spence said the campaign has taken a toll on his family and that he鈥檚 unsure of where he鈥檒l go from here 鈥� or if it will include politics.
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