Runyan: "Return . . . this country to what it should be"

The atmosphere at Jon Runyan's Election Night headquarters, the Westin Hotel in Mount Laurel, was festive, the crowd sensing a victory from early in the night.

Hundreds of supporters packed a ballroom decorated with red, white, and blue helium balloons and table-toppers. Many sipped drinks and watched the Fox News election coverage on a large screen at the front of the room. The volume of conversation ran high, occasionally interrupted by cheers as wins by Republican candidates splashed across the screen.

Gov. Christie took center stage at 10:41 p.m. to thunderous applause.

"Right from the beginning, I've been telling the people of New Jersey that the most important race to me was the Third Congressional District, and Jon Runyan has brought it home for us," Christie said. "No candidate across the state worked harder than Jon. No one believed in the people of the district more than Jon did. Jon is going to go down to Washington as part of a Republican majority to take our country back."

Runyan spoke for about 10 minutes, spending most of that time thanking supporters, including his family and Christie.

Considered a long-shot at the start of the campaign, the 36-year-old former Eagles lineman was swept into office in a wave of dissatisfaction with the status quo, a reflection of a struggling economy.

"I think politicians in D.C. are going to learn a few things about me very quickly," Runyan said. "It is truly about being yourself and voting your conscience. A return to that returns this country to what it should be. I probably will be the largest human being on the Hill. We're going to take that largeness and actually shrink the size of government."

Runyan, who spent part of the day campaigning in Ocean County with his 13-year-old son, was joined in Mount Laurel by his wife, three children, and parents.

Many in the crowd talked of wanting to see the country move in a different direction. The traditionally Republican district elected Democrat John Adler in 2008, but apparently decided to return to its conservative roots.