Adler concedes House seat to Runyan

U.S. Rep. John Adler has conceded defeat to his Republican challenger, former Eagle Jon Runyan.

Adler called Runyan shortly before 10 p.m., according to Adler's spokesman, Ryan Carbain.

The battle for the 3rd District, which runs through Burlington and Ocean counties and includes Cherry Hill in Camden County, was New Jersey's most expensive and bitter House race.

Runyan addressed a happy crowd at the Mount Laurel Westin just before 11 p.m.

"I think politicians in D.C. are going to learn a few things about me very quickly," Runyan said, after being introduced by Gov. Christie. "It is truly about being yourself and voting your conscience. A return to that returns this country to what it should be."

Though the main combatants were Adler, 51, of Cherry Hill, and Runyan, 36, of Mount Laurel, the race became a proxy fight for the nation's political class. Donors from around the country sent in more than $5 million in contributions.

Rider University political scientist Ben Dworkin said the race reflected a political climate driven by a bad economy.

"In some countries, people riot in the streets and they shut down the government and they occupy buildings," Dworkin said. "We don't see that in America. The most universal opportunity to vent our frustrations at our government is by voting, and that often means voting against whomever happens to be in charge."

In a race where voters heard more talk about donkeys and a self-proclaimed tea party candidate than what candidates could do to ease fears over a sluggish economy, voter frustration was palpable and focused, sometimes on change for change's sake.

Lou Delgado, 59, an exterminator by trade who describes himself as a lifelong Democrat, said he was voting for whomever was not the incumbent.

In this case, that meant casting a vote for Runyan, said the Berkeley, Ocean County, resident.

"And I'm a (New York) Giants fan, so that crossed my mind," quipped Delgado. "But I had to go with the new guy because I don't like the direction things are going in. We gotta get anybody who's in out."

In Cherry Hill, lifelong Democrat Mark Koch did something he never thought he'd do. He voted for Republican Runyan.

"I'm a staunch Democrat," said the soft-spoken Koch. "But a message had to be sent."

The Democratic Party "is out of touch with average Americans," he said. "And this out-of-control spending has got to stop."

But in Willingboro, supporting President Obama was reason enough for Yvonne Buzard to vote for Adler.

"We need to support our president, and he is not getting it," said Buzard, 60. "If it means voting Democrat every time, I will do it. (Obama) is trying and he is still not getting the support he needs."

"I will vote for anything that President Obama wants," said Marcia Brent, a 46-year-old production supervisor, also from Willingboro. "2008 was the first time I ever voted."

Often the choice came down to party loyalty.

Angela Sisti, who is in her 60s and lives in Holiday Village in Mount Laurel, said she voted "Republican straight down the line. I hate the Democrats. They're ruining the country." Runyan, she said, is "using common sense. He knows what we're up against."

But Jean Orlando, 81 also of Mount Laurel, who was voting with her son, Brian Orlando, 32, a DJ from Long Island, said she voted for Adler "mostly because I'm a Democrat."

The former receptionist also expressed a widely held view about this year's elections: "I'm sick and tired of the ads and the negativity and the nastiness of these people. It's ridiculous." "Adler," she said, "he is not as bad."

For at least one resident, the vote was a personal message to Republican Gov. Christie, who put his support behind Runyan and who has cut school aid and battled the teachers' union.

"I'm unemployed because of Christie. I'm an unemployed school teacher," said Elizabeth Nagle, 56, a Moorestown voter. Nagle is a Spanish teacher who was laid off from the Cinnaminson district in August due to cuts in state education aid. "It's a Republican's fault I'm unemployed."

Adler and Runyan approached the race with "trust me" campaigns. Adler, a former state senator, called himself a centrist, dedicated to helping small businesses create jobs. Runyan spoke vaguely about cutting taxes but offered no specifics on which federal programs he would trim.

Though the district has voted for Republicans for decades, in the last two elections it showed a hunger for change. It voted for Obama in 2008 and for Christie in 2009 after both campaigned on vague promises of changing the status quo.