This recap was written by David London, Senior Director of the U.S. Government Relations team for eBay Inc. 

In the 2013 election cycle, regular gubernatorial and legislative elections were only held in New Jersey and Virginia, as well as a handful of local mayoral races significant to local eBay Inc. operations in Boston, King of Prussia, Seattle and New York City. Interestingly, the 2013 election cycle had the fewest number of state-level contests of the decade.  In addition to candidate races, six states considered statewide ballot measures: Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Washington.  Of the 31 total ballot measures, 28 were approved by voters.

2014 will be a major election year, with 36 states holding gubernatorial races and 46 states holding legislative races, in over 7,000 legislative districts across the country.  Of note, there will gubernatorial elections in: California, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Wisconsin and Georgia among others.

Here is a quick 2013 election recap:

STATE RACES

New Jersey
Incumbent Governor Chris Christie (R) won reelection in a landslide victory over state Senator Barbara Buono (D), receiving 60% of the vote as compared to Senator Buono's 38%. Governor Christie was declared the winner immediately after the polls closed. All 120 seats in the New Jersey Legislature were contested on election day, with Democrats retaining their majorities in both the Senate and the Assembly.

Virginia
Democrat Terry McAuliffe edged out Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to become Virginia's newest Governor. McAuliffe received 47.9% of the state's votes while Cuccinelli gained a close 45.5%. McAuliffe was announced as the winner immediately after the closure of the polls. In the Virginia General Assembly, 55 of the 100 total seats were contested. According to unofficial figures from the Virginia Board of Elections, Republicans maintained control of the House of Delegates with 67 seats while the Democrats held 33. This gives the Republican Party a super majority and provides a large road block for legislation stemming from the Democratic Party and, more specifically, Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe (D).

The Virginia Attorney General's race was headed for a recount as of late last week, with the lead seesawing between Republican state Senator Mark D. Obenshain and Democratic state Senator Mark Herring as the final votes were tallied. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, state Senator Mark Obenshain was clinging to a 481-vote lead over state Senator Mark Herring, with 2.2 million ballots cast, according to unofficial figures from the Virginia State Board of Elections.

Washington
Currently, Jan Angel (R) leads in the Senate District 26 special election with 700 votes, or near 51% of the vote. Senator Nathan Schlicher (D) was appointed to this seat in January 2013 following Derek Kilmer's election to the United States House of Representatives, but lost last night. This seat could change parties. This could add one Republican in the Senate to the Majority Coalition Caucus, with the new makeup at 24 Republicans and two Democrats in the Caucus. The Democratic Caucus now stands at 23 in the Senate.

MAYORAL RACES

Boston
State Representative Martin J. "Marty" Walsh (D) defeated Boston City Councilor John R. Connolly with 52% of the vote to win the mayor's office. First elected to the legislature in 1997, Walsh serves as Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party Labor Caucus and as Chairman of the Committee on Ethics. He will replace Boston's longest serving Mayor, Thomas Menino, who was first elected in 1993.

New York City
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio (D) won the mayoral race in a landslide victory last Tuesday, with 73.3% of the vote. De Blasio is the first Democrat to assume the New York City Mayor's office in 20 years. During his tenure as Public Advocate, he was a vocal critic of the Bloomberg administration, challenging many of Bloomberg's housing and education policies.

Seattle
First term incumbent Mayor Mike McGinn (D) was defeated by Washington State Senator Ed Murray (D), who claimed 56% of the vote (important to note that McGinn has not conceded, but the voter margin is too large). McGinn's exit marks the third consecutive time a one-term Mayor has been ousted from office in Seattle.  Senator Murray was first elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 1995, where he served until winning a State Senate seat in 2007.

Upper Merion (King of Prussia)
Democrat Ericka Spott defeated Republican Marianne Hooper, and will retain her seat as Upper Merion Supervisor. Spott was first elected to the position of Supervisor in 2008. She is employed as the Director of Human Resources & Executive Compensation at UGI Energy Services.

BALLOT HIGHLIGHTS

Colorado
Amendment 66, which would have replaced the state's flat income tax system with two tiers, with the proceeds going to help fund education, was rejected by voters. Proposition AA passed however, which will tax legal, recreational marijuana. The proceeds from this tax will help fund education, as well as public health and other activities related to the legal marijuana market.

New Jersey
Voters in New Jersey approved a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage was raised to $8.25, from $7.25, and the adopted constitutional amendment ensures that it will increase in the future.

Washington
A genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling initiative was voted down by the citizens of Washington. Had it been approved, this would have made Washington the first state to require genetically modified food to be labeled.