In national election news Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, was re-elected by a wide margin that solidified his broad appeal; he is likely to run for president in 2016. Virginia’s race for governor was very close, but it appeared with 98 percent of precincts reporting that Democrat Terry McAuliffe was going to defeat Republican Ken Cuccinelli. In the New York mayoral race, Democrat Bill de Blasio won against Republican Joe Lhota, who conceded after polls closed. In Ohio, incumbent Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson appeared to have fought off a challenge from Ken Lanci based on early results, but the AP had not called the race as of press time. Read full story here.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford admitted Tuesday he smoked crack cocaine “probably a year ago” while he was in a “drunken stupor.” Ford said he loves his job and will not resign despite mounting pressure, and municipal law does not provide any framework to remove him unless he is convicted and jailed for a criminal offense. Toronto police said last week they had obtained a video of his drug use, but until Tuesday the mayor has dodged the allegations. Read full story here.

The family of the young man who fired shots in a New Jersey mall Monday night before killing himself struggled Tuesday to believe the man they knew could have done such a thing. Investigators said the gunman, 20-year-old Richard Shoop, did not appear to have wanted to hurt anyone else when he began firing at the ceiling of the Garden State Plaza and trapped scared shoppers for hours. Officials reported no other injuries and said they were not sure why Shoop took his life in public and endangered others, but he seemed to not want to come out alive.

The Illinois House on Tuesday voted to legalize gay marriage, making it the largest in the heartland to do so. The measure must pass the Senate, but that is considered a technicality because the Senate already passed it in February. Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn also has said he will sign it. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage, and if Illinois becomes the next, it could start allowing gay weddings as soon as June.

Information is from the Associated Press.

Contact Carrie Blazina at [email protected].