JERSEY CITY - For his runoff election night party, Jim McGreevey chose the Ringside Lounge, a sports bar on seedy Tonnelle Avenue and far from the city's vibrant downtown and waterfront area.

This was quite a switch for the candidate. His Nov. 4 party was at the upscale Liberty House in Liberty State Park.

If there was supposed to be some sort of political symbolism in the scenery change, it was purely academic. After all, by Tuesday night, the election was over.

And for McGreevey, this was a more than two-year slog; he announced his mayoral candidacy in November, 2023. His runoff opponent James Solomon, did not announce until September, 2024.

From the outset, there was something obvious about McGreevey's mayoral campaign.

He was - and is - a former governor. People know his name. Name recognition is valuable, but not when people know you as a guy who resigned in disgrace without even finishing his first term.

His campaign comments were along the lines of, "People make mistakes; everyone does. The important thing is bouncing back."

Even within that, there was a problem.

It helps to have a genuine attachment to the place where you are running.

McGreevey was born in Jersey City in 1957, but he grew up in Carteret, where his family relocated. Eventually, he made his way to Woodbridge, where he was mayor and also state senator (Democrats especially like dual office holding), all of which prepared him for governor. He lost in 1997, won in 2001 and announced his resignation in 2004.

By any objective analysis, his ties to Jersey City were something that had to be explained. What's that old cliche - when you are explaining, you are losing.

With multiple candidates in the race, it was a safe assumption that no one would get a majority of votes, prompting a runoff between the top two.

Some observers were surprised, however, when Solomon, a city councilman from the aforementioned upscale neighborhood, finished first on Nov. 4, topping McGreevey by about 2,500 votes.

McGreevey got into the second round by beating Bill O'Dea by a bit more than 2,000- votes. O'Dea, a lifelong resident, quickly endorsed Solomon, posing a problem for the former governor.

That problem manifested itself on election day.

The first results - posted a few minutes after 8 pm - had McGreevey getting beat by more than 2-1. And that was that.

By 8:45, it was clear he had lost.

McGreevey arrived at 9:10.

He began by complimenting the venue, saying they make the best hamburgers in the area.

"We tried to run a campaign on ... bread and butter issues," he said.

"I congratulate councilman and now mayor elect James Solomon." He then asked his supporters to give him a round of applause. And they did.

It was a very upbeat concession speech, if that was possible.

He thanked his supporters and talked about the value of democracy and respecting elections.

Still, you could not ignore the reality.

McGreevey clearly entered this race seeking another job and some sort of redemption.  It's unknown if he got redemption, but he certainly did not get the job.