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| Turnout | 46.9%[1] ( 2.1pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results Municipality resultsChristie: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Corzine: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2009.[2] IncumbentDemocratic governorJon Corzine ran for a second term againstRepublicanChris Christie, IndependentChristopher Daggett, and nine others, in addition to severalwrite-in candidates. Christie won the election, with about 48.5 percent of the vote, to 44.9 percent for Corzine and 5.8 percent for Daggett.[3] He assumed office on January 19, 2010. This was the first election to fill the newly created office oflieutenant governor, with the candidates for governor choosing their running mates.Kim Guadagno, Christie's running mate, became New Jersey's first lieutenant governor following her inauguration.
Christie won the largest margin for a non-incumbent Republican since1969. He was the first Republican to carry Middlesex and Gloucester counties in a gubernatorial election since1985.[4] The 2009 election was the only time since1961 whenBergen County did not support the winner of the state's gubernatorial election. Chris Daggett's 5.8% of the vote was the best for a third party in a New Jersey gubernatorial election since1913. This is the second (and most recent) time that a sitting governor of New Jersey lost a general election for the second term since1993.
Although Corzine was unpopular among independents and Republicans, he polled much more highly among registered Democrats. His three opponents were former Glen Ridge mayor Carl Bergmanson, who ran on a platform of fiscal discipline, governmental reform, and removing the tolls on theGarden State Parkway, theNew Jersey Turnpike and theAtlantic City Expressway;perennial candidate Jeff Boss; and businessman and former Congressional candidate Roger Bacon. AQuinnipiac poll conducted shortly before the primary and released on May 20, 2009, indicated that 65% of Democratic primary voters would vote for Corzine, with the other three candidates each receiving 4%–5%. Also, 62% of Democrats approved of him while 24% did not.[8]
On the primary election night, when Corzine accepted his party's nomination, Vice PresidentJoe Biden campaigned for him, saying that he and PresidentBarack Obama would help him get re-elected. Biden also characterized Corzine as "America's governor."[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jon Corzine (incumbent) | 154,448 | 77.18 | |
| Democratic | Carl Bergmanson | 17,125 | 8.56 | |
| Democratic | Jeff Boss | 16,639 | 8.31 | |
| Democratic | Roger Bacon | 11,908 | 5.95 | |
| Total votes | 200,120 | 100.00 | ||
Lonegan disputed the nominating petitions of Brown, Keller and Levine, and administrative judges ruled that their petitions fell below the threshold of 1,000 valid signatures. As such, their names were removed from the primary ballot.[15]
Most of the focus in the primary campaign was on the Republican contest between the front-runner, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who was heavily favored by the party establishment, and formerBogota mayor Steve Lonegan. Both sides released numerous television and radio advertisements, as well as mailers to registered Republicans. Christie focused on his record of fighting corruption, while Lonegan emphasized his credentials as a lifelong conservative.
On April 1, Lonegan released the first attack ad of the 2009 campaign, and released another one on April 19. He accused Christie of ethically dubious awarding of no-bid monitor contracts during his tenure as U.S. attorney, described him as a moderate, and made other allegations.[16] However, on April 24, Christie responded with a new 60 second radio ad noting that Lonegan has lost many elections in his career, including losing by a landslide toSteve Rothman for Congress in 1998 and finishing fourth (out of seven) in the Republican primary of the2005 New Jersey Governor's race. He also claimed that Lonegan's "flat tax" plan, a crucial part of the candidate's platform which calls for applying the same income tax rate to everyone, "would raise taxes on almost 70 percent of New Jersey workers", and characterized Lonegan's previous attacks as "desperate."[17]
Among those to endorse Christie in the primary were former New Jersey governorThomas Kean, businessmanSteve Forbes, former New York City MayorRudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts governorMitt Romney.[18] In addition, all county GOP organizations endorsed Christie, as did several New Jersey congressmen.
Joe the Plumber endorsed Lonegan and campaigned with him on May 5.[19] On May 14,United States Rep.Ron Paul (R-Texas) sent out an email endorsing Lonegan and asking for donations to Lonegan's campaign. EconomistsArt Laffer andPeter Schiff also endorsed Lonegan, as didNew Jersey General AssemblymanMichael J. Doherty.
Christie was declared the winner of the primary, defeating Lonegan by a margin of 55 to 42 percent. Lonegan immediately endorsed Christie, stating:
It's our job now, it's your job now to change our focus on taking this Republican Party in a new direction. We must have one common cause, one cause. We need to beat Jon Corzine.[20]
Two state-sponsored televised debates were held before the primary. The first, on May 12, was broadcast onNJN, while the other, held on May 17, was broadcast on the New York television stationWABC-TV. Both debates were between Christie and Lonegan. Because Merkt did not meet the fund-raising or spending thresholds set by the state, he was not allowed to participate.[21]However, all three candidates were featured in two additional radio-only privately sponsored debates shortly before the primary.
| Candidate | Amount of money |
|---|---|
| Chris Christie | $3 million |
| Steve Lonegan | $500,000 |
| Rick Merkt | $44,000 |
| [22] | |
| Source | Dates Administered | Chris Christie | Steve Lonegan | Richard Merkt | Difference between two top candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rasmussen Reports[23] | May 27, 2009 | 46% | 35% | 4% | 11% |
| Monmouth University[24] | May 20, 2009 | 50% | 32% | 2% | 18% |
| Rasmussen Reports[23] | May 13, 2009 | 39% | 29% | 3% | 10% |
| Quinnipiac University[25] | April 4–20, 2009 | 46% | 37% | 2% | 9% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[26] | March 30 – April 5, 2009 | 44% | 21% | 2% | 22% |
| Quinnipiac University[27] | March 4–9, 2009 | 45% | 19% | 1% | 21% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[28] | February 25 – March 2, 2009 | 43% | 15% | 1% | 28% |
| Quinnipiac University[29] | January 29 – February 2, 2009 | 44% | 17% | 2% | 27% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[30] | January 2–7, 2009 | 32% | 15% | 5% | 17% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris Christie | 184,085 | 55.08 | |
| Republican | Steve Lonegan | 140,946 | 42.17 | |
| Republican | Rick Merkt | 9,184 | 2.75 | |
| Total votes | 334,215 | 100.00 | ||
Write-in candidates
Corzine kicked off his campaign in June criticizing his Republican opponents and tying them to former presidentGeorge W. Bush.[49] Corzine also released the first two television campaign ads, both were 30 second spots, released on January 5. One of the ads compared the two candidates' positions on social issues.[50] TheRepublican Governors Association shot back, releasing two of its own television ads showing how Corzine had broken campaign promises on June 16.[51]
Corzine was criticized by GOP leadership for granting contract concessions to state workers, by granting them an additional seven paid days off, after threats were made to protest the primary election night event where Vice President Biden was the keynote speaker. It is estimated that these concessions will cost the state $40 million.[52]
The election became a three-way race on July 7, when independent candidateChristopher Daggett, a former regional administrator for theEnvironmental Protection Agency and Deputy Chief of Staff to former governorThomas Kean, announced that he had raised enough money to qualify for public funds and to qualify for participation in the debates.[53] Both Democratic and Republican leaders took Daggett's campaign seriously. Only a day before the election, theNew Jersey Democratic State Committee admitted to funding politicalrobocalls inSomerset County attacking Christie and urging a vote for Daggett. Party chairmanJoe Cryan initially denied the charges until it was revealed that the disclaimer at the end of the call declared it was paid for by "Victory '09, a project of the NJDSC," the abbreviation referring to the state Democratic party. Kevin Roberts, a spokesman for theNew Jersey Republican State Committee, attacked Cryan as an "outright liar," adding that "Corzine's party boss knows what we know: Jon Corzine's record is so dreadful that they feel they need to try to trick voters into a second term."[54] Similarly, state senatorMarcia Karrow, a Christie campaign coordinator inHunterdon County, declared that Daggett voters "might as well pull the lever for Corzine."[55]
On July 15, the New Jersey chapter of a liberal environmental group, theSierra Club, released a report critical of the Corzine administration's environmental record, with New Jersey Executive DirectorJeff Tittel stating that group believes "this will go down as the worst environmental administration in state history."[56] The state organization formally endorsed Daggett on August 17, its first endorsement of an independent candidate.[57]
Corzine was the target of a vigorous advertising campaign funded by the Christie campaign and theRepublican Governors Association, attacking his record as governor, tying him to corrupt officials, and assailing him for failing to deliver on his campaign promises. The RGA set up a mock newspaper website,"The Corzine Times", collecting newspaper articles critical of Corzine.
One of Corzine's main lines of attack involved Christie's ties to the unpopular former presidentGeorge W. Bush, who appointed Christie to the U.S. Attorney's office in 2001. In August 2009, Bush political strategistKarl Rove revealed that he had held conversations with Christie about a potential gubernatorial run during Christie's time as U.S. Attorney. U.S. Attorneys are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities by theHatch Act of 1939.[58] Corzine quickly incorporated this into his advertisements targeting Christie.[59]
The Corzine campaign filed requests under theFreedom of Information Act since March 2009 seeking records of budgets, travel expenses, and no-bid contracts from Christie's tenure as U.S. Attorney.[60] The U.S. Attorney's office did not release the requested documents before election day.[61] State Sen.Loretta Weinberg demanded an end to the "logjam" by the U.S. Attorney's office.[62] On August 12, Christie's successor, acting U.S. attorneyRalph J. Marra, Jr., issued a press release defending the office:
The U.S. Attorney's Office has worked as professionally and expeditiously as it can to fulfill all the requests and has been in virtually daily contact with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) in Washington to accomplish this burdensome and continuous task. ... At absolutely no time has there been an effort to slow down or inhibit the FOIA process.[63]
On August 18, 2009, Christie acknowledged that he had loaned $46,000 to First Assistant U.S. Attorney for New JerseyMichele Brown two years ago, while serving as her superior as the state's U.S. attorney, and that he had failed to report the loan on either hisincome tax returns or his mandatory financial disclosure report to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[64] In response to the disclosure of the financial relationship between Christie and Brown, Weinberg called on Brown to recuse herself from the task of retrieving U.S. Attorney's Office records requested by the Corzine campaign under theFreedom of Information Act.[65] On August 25, Brown resigned from her post, stating that she does not want to be "a distraction" for the office.[64] Although the Corzine campaign sought to make the loan a major campaign issue, aQuinnipiac poll showed that only 43% of voters believed that the loan controversy was a legitimate attack, while aplurality of 49% called it an unfair attack.[66]
As of September 20, Corzine had put out 4,806 television advertisements to Christie's 1,393 ads.[67]
Corzine, Christie, and Daggett debated each other three times by the election. Two debates were sanctioned by the state's Election Law Enforcement Commission; Christie and Daggett were required to participate in these debates, as they received public financing. Corzine did not seek public financing but appeared in both ELEC debates. The first debate, sanctioned by the ELEC and sponsored byNJN,Gannett New Jersey, andThe Philadelphia Inquirer, was held on October 1 inTrenton. It was televised on NJN.[68] It was widely reported by mainstream media that Chris Daggett won the first debate.[69]
The second ELEC-sanctioned debate, sponsored byFox News,The Record,WWOR-TV out ofSecaucus, andWTXF-TV out ofPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, was held on October 16 atWilliam Paterson University inWayne. It was televised on WWOR-TV and WTXF-TV.[68][70]
All three candidates appeared in a third debate, which was not sanctioned by the ELEC, that was held on October 22. The debate was broadcast on the radio onWBGO, aNewark-based jazz station, and was simulcast onWNYC out of New York City,WHYY-FM out of Philadelphia, and public radio stations throughout the state of New Jersey.[71] Christie and Daggett agreed to participate in a fourth debate, broadcast on the radio onNew Jersey 101.5; Corzine declined to participate.[72]
This was the first gubernatorial election since the position oflieutenant governor was created[73] and the candidates were the first gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey history to pick running mates.[74] All twelve candidates on the ballot selected their running mates by the July 27, 2009 deadline.[75]
Christie, as the Republican nominee for governor, selectedKim Guadagno, the sheriff ofMonmouth County. Others mentioned for the post had included former congressmanBob Franks,State SenatorsDiane Allen andJennifer Beck, andBergen County ClerkKathleen Donovan.
Corzine, as the Democratic nominee, selected State SenatorLoretta Weinberg. Other mentioned for the post had included Newark Mayor and future U.S. senatorCory Booker, New Jersey senatorsNia Gill andBarbara Buono, New Jersey General AssemblywomanBonnie Watson Coleman, and wealthy businessmanRandal Pinkett.
Daggett, having qualified for matching funds, selectedOcean Township'sFrank J. Esposito, a longtime professor and administrator atKean University who served as an advisor to theCommissioner of Education in theThomas Kean administration, as his running mate. Others mentioned for the post had includedEdison MayorJun Choi andPassaic County freeholder James Gallagher.
There was also a debate between the three major candidates for lieutenant governor:Loretta Weinberg,Kim Guadagno, andFrank Esposito. This debate, sponsored by Leadership New Jersey, was held atMonmouth University inWest Long Branch on October 8. It was televised onNews 12 New Jersey and broadcast on the radio on New Jersey 101.5.[68]
In New Jersey, Republicans tend to be strongest in the Northwest and Shore regions of the state, Democrats tend to be strongest in urban areas, and suburban areas such as those inMercer County,Middlesex County,Union County,Passaic County, andBergen County are considered toss-ups. In the Democratic primary, Corzine got over 70% of the vote only in the urban areas, doing relatively poorly among suburban Democrats. His weakest performance was inWarren County, where he won with just 55% of the vote.[76] On the other hand, Corzine performed strongly inBergen County, winning with almost 87% of the vote.[77] In the Republican primary, Christie lost some key Republican strongholds, such asHunterdon County (where he received 45.8%[78]) andWarren County (where he received 46.9%[79]) to Lonegan.
According to a September 1Quinnipiac University poll,Hudson County andEssex County were the only counties where a majority of voters viewed Corzine favorably. Corzine had upside-down ratings in all 19 other counties in that poll.[80] In contrast, Christie had upside-down ratings in those two counties but was viewed favorably by pluralities of voters in every other county except forAtlantic County,Ocean County, andMonmouth County, where a majority of voters viewed him favorably.
Taxes and the economy were overwhelmingly the top issues in this campaign. Corzine's strongest issue was on education, but it was the most important issue for only 4% of likely voters.[81] Christie attacked Corzine's record of raising taxes, failing to deliver property tax relief, and presiding over a period of unusually high unemployment in the state. Corzine pointed to the global economic recession as the reason for the state's economic troubles. Republicans contended that Corzine's policies led to over-taxation and economic decline, causing an out-migration of residents documented in a report by theEdward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.[82]
Christie also campaigned on the issues of ethics, reducing corruption, and ending fiscal waste. These issues were brought back to the forefront of the debate after 44 individuals, including several public officials in New Jersey, were arrested by the FBI in July 2009 inOperation Bid Rig. Corzine was not a target of the probe; however, the office of a member of his cabinet,Commissioner of Community AffairsJoseph Doria, was raided by the FBI in connection with Operation Bid Rig. Governor Corzine asked for, and accepted, Doria's resignation on July 23. Doria has not been charged with any crime. Although Corzine has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the corruption sting, which resulted in the arrests of mostly Democratic officials, nevertheless further injured Corzine's reputation. FormerEPA Regional AdministratorAlan J. Steinberg predicted in his July 23 column that the corruption scandal would doom Corzine's re-election bid, as ethics would become a major issue again, thus helping Christie.[83] State SenatorRay Lesniak, a prominent Democrat, acknowledged that "If it's about ethics, Corzine loses. Not because Jon Corzine's weak on ethics, but because it's Chris Christie's strength, and now it's national news."[84]
Under normal circumstances, Corzine would have been considered to have an inherent advantage in the "blue state" of New Jersey. No Republican has won New Jersey's electoral votes in a presidential election sinceGeorge H. W. Bush in1988. Prior to the 2009 election, no Republican had won a statewide election in New Jersey since1997, when GovernorChristine Todd Whitman won re-election with 47.1% of the vote. The last Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey with over 50% of the vote was incumbent governorThomas Kean in 1985, who won with 71% of the vote.[85] No Republican has won a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey since liberal RepublicanClifford Case in 1972.
Between February 2009 and the end of his term, Corzine's approval ratings ranged between 33% and 42%. His disapproval ratings ranged between 46% and 66%.[86] These weak poll numbers were the result of several factors. Going into the 2009 fiscal year, New Jersey faced a budget shortfall of approximately $3 billion. Corzine attempted to close this gap by enacting pay freezes and furloughs of state employees, a policy that was unpopular with many public employee unions, a major Democratic constituency. Corzine had also cut state aid to local governments, which hurt his standing in the urban areas which made up another key segment of the Democrats' base. Across the state, voters expressed sentiments that taxes were too high and too few budget cuts were being made, and further public dissatisfaction mounted following theeconomic recession in 2008. By the end of May 2009, Corzine's job approval was the lowest of any New Jersey governor in modern history, putting him behind Christie in early election polling.[87] These weak numbers indicated that he could be vulnerable against a strong Republican challenger.[88] Moreover, no Democrat has won re-election to the state governor's office sinceBrendan Byrne's victory in1977.[89]
Some thought that Corzine would benefit from the popularity of PresidentBarack Obama, who carried the state in 2008 with 57% of the vote and had higher approval ratings than Corzine had. However, Obama's approval ratings in the state varied, ranging from as high as 68% in a JuneQuinnipiac poll[90] to as low as 53% in a PPP poll, which is lower than what he obtained on election day in 2008.[91] Another poll in July gave him 55% approval in the state, also less than what he obtained on election day. In the same poll 47% believed Obama would help Corzine's numbers in the election by campaigning with him.[92]
After Vice President Biden's June appearance at a "poorly attended" Corzine primary-night event, theBarack Obama administration approachedPresident of the New Jersey Senate and former governorRichard Codey to consider running in the governor's place if the incumbent withdrew from his reelection bid, citing polls showing that Codey led Christie.[93] Obama held a campaign rally for Corzine on July 16. Originally the rally was set to be held atRutgers University,[94] but ultimately it was held at thePNC Bank Arts Center instead.[95]
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| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Rothenberg Political Report[117] | Tossup | October 26, 2009 |
 | This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension. |
| Source | Dates Administered | Jon Corzine (D) | Chris Christie (R) | Chris Daggett (I) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[118] | October 31 – November 1, 2009 | 41% | 47% | 11% | – |
| SurveyUSA/WABC-TV[119] | October 30 – November 1, 2009 | 42% | 45% | 10% | 3% |
| Monmouth University/Gannett[120] | October 30 – November 1, 2009 | 43% | 41% | 8% | — |
| Democracy Corps[121] | October 29 – November 1, 2009 | 41% | 37% | 15% | 8% |
| Quinnipiac[122] | October 27 – November 1, 2009 | 40% | 42% | 12% | 6% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[123] | October 22 – November 1, 2009 | 43% | 41% | 8% | 5% |
| Monmouth University/Gannett[124] | October 28–30, 2009 | 42% | 43% | 8% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports[125] | October 29, 2009 | 43% | 46% | 8% | 3% |
| Zogby[126] | October 27–29, 2009 | 40% | 39% | 14% | 6% |
| Neighborhood Research[127] | October 27–29, 2009 | 35% | 42% | 8% | 15% |
| Democracy Corps[128] | October 27–28, 2009 | 43% | 38% | 12% | 7% |
| SurveyUSA/WABC-TV[129] | October 26–28, 2009 | 43% | 43% | 11% | 3% |
| Research 2000[130] | October 26–28, 2009 | 41% | 42% | 14% | 3% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[131] | October 22–28, 2009 | 39% | 41% | 14% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports[125] | October 26, 2009 | 43% | 46% | 7% | 4% |
| Public Policy Polling[132] | October 23–26, 2009 | 38% | 42% | 13% | 6% |
| Quinnipiac[133] | October 20–26, 2009 | 43% | 38% | 13% | 5% |
| Suffolk University[134] | October 22–25, 2009 | 42% | 33% | 7% | 14% |
| Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research[135] | October 21–22, 2009 | 42% | 39% | 19% | — |
| SurveyUSA[136] | October 19–21, 2009 | 39% | 41% | 19% | 1% |
| Rutgers-Eagleton[137] | October 15–20, 2009 | 39% | 36% | 20% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports[138] | October 19, 2009 | 39% | 41% | 11% | 8% |
| Monmouth University[139] | October 15–18, 2009 | 39% | 39% | 14% | 8% |
| Rasmussen Reports[138] | October 14, 2009 | 41% | 45% | 9% | 5% |
| SurveyUSA/WABC-TV[140] | October 12–14, 2009 | 39% | 40% | 18% | 3% |
| The New York Times[141] | October 9–14, 2009 | 40% | 37% | 14% | 9% |
| Public Policy Polling[142] | October 9–12, 2009 | 39% | 40% | 13% | 8% |
| Quinnipiac University[143] | October 7–12, 2009 | 40% | 41% | 14% | 5% |
| Neighborhood Research[144] | October 6–8, 2009 | 35% | 36% | 11% | 18% |
| Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research[145] | October 6–7, 2009 | 41% | 38% | 14% | 7% |
| SurveyUSA[146] | October 5–7, 2009 | 40% | 43% | 14% | 2% |
| Penn, Schoen & Berland Assoc.[147] | September 30 – October 5, 2009 | 38% | 43% | 13% | 6% |
| Rasmussen Reports[125] | October 5, 2009 | 44% | 47% | 6% | 3% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[148] | September 28 – October 5, 2009 | 38% | 37% | 17% | 8% |
| Research 2000[149] | September 28–30, 2009 | 42% | 46% | 7% | 5% |
| Monmouth University[150] | September 24–29, 2009 | 40% | 43% | 8% | 9% |
| Quinnipiac[151] | September 22–28, 2009 | 39% | 43% | 12% | 6% |
| Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research[152] | September 22–23, 2009 | 39% | 40% | 11% | 10% |
| Strategic Vision[153] | September 18–20, 2009 | 38% | 46% | 8% | 8% |
| Rasmussen Reports[154] | September 14–17, 2009 | 41% | 48% | 6% | 5% |
| Neighborhood Research[155] | September 14–17, 2009 | 33% | 40% | 7% | 20% |
| Public Policy Polling[156] | September 11–14, 2009 | 35% | 44% | 13% | 7% |
| Monmouth University[157] | September 8–10, 2009 | 39% | 47% | 5% | 7% |
| Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research[158] | September 8–9, 2009 | 38% | 41% | 10% | 10% |
| Rasmussen Reports[159] | September 9, 2009 | 38% | 46% | 6% | 10% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[160] | August 26–30, 2009 | 42% | 47% | 1%* | 6% |
| Quinnipiac University[161] | August 25–26, 2009 | 37% | 47% | 9% | 6% |
| Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research[162] | August 25–26, 2009 | 41% | 43% | 7% | 9% |
| Rasmussen Reports[125] | August 25, 2009 | 36% | 47% | 7% | 11% |
| Neighborhood Research[163] | August 12–21, 2009 | 36% | 39% | 6% | 19% |
| Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research[164] | August 11–12, 2009 | 35% | 40% | 10% | 15% |
| Quinnipiac University[165] | August 11, 2009 | 42% | 51% | 7% | 6% |
| Research 2000[166] | August 5, 2009 | 40% | 48% | 3% | 9% |
| Rasmussen Reports[125] | August 4, 2009 | 37% | 50% | 5% | 8% |
| Monmouth University[167] | July 29 – August 2, 2009 | 36% | 50% | 5% | 4% |
| Public Policy Polling[168] | July 24–27, 2009 | 36% | 50% | — | 14% |
| Strategic Vision[169] | July 17–19, 2009 | 38% | 53% | 5% | 4% |
| Monmouth University[170] | July 9–14, 2009 | 37% | 45% | 4% | 13% |
| Quinnipiac University[171] | July 8–12, 2009 | 38% | 47% | 8% | 7% |
| Basswood[172] | July 7, 2009 | 33% | 48% | – | 19% |
| Rasmussen Reports[159] | July 7, 2009 | 39% | 46% | 5% | 10% |
| Public Policy Polling[173] | June 27–29, 2009 | 41% | 51% | – | 9% |
| Strategic Vision[174] | June 19–21, 2009 | 39% | 51% | 2% | 8% |
| Quinnipiac University[175] | June 3–8, 2009 | 40% | 50% | 1% | 9% |
| Rasmussen Reports[176] | June 3, 2009 | 38% | 51% | 5% | 6% |
| Research 2000[177] | May 25–27, 2009 | 39% | 46% | – | 15% |
| Rasmussen Reports[178] | May 14, 2009 | 38% | 47% | 6% | 9% |
| Monmouth University[179] | April 23–25, 2009 | 35% | 39% | 2% | 18% |
| Quinnipiac University[25] | April 14–20, 2009 | 38% | 45% | 2% | 14% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[26] | April 5, 2009 | 33% | 42% | — | 25% |
| Rasmussen Reports[176] | March 10, 2009 | 34% | 49% | 7% | 10% |
| Quinnipiac University[27] | March 4–9, 2009 | 37% | 46% | 1% | 15% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University[28] | February 25 – March 2, 2009 | 32% | 41% | — | 27% |
| Quinnipiac University[29] | January 29 – February 2, 2009 | 38% | 44% | 2% | 16% |
| Monmouth University[180] | January 12–14, 2009 | 38% | 36% | 2% | 21% |
| Rasmussen Reports[176] | January 2–7, 2009 | 40% | 42% | 5% | 13% |
| Fairleigh Dickinson[181] | January 2–7, 2009 | 40% | 33% | — | 26% |
| Quinnipiac University[182] | November 17, 2008 | 42% | 36% | — | — |
| Research 2000[183] | September 11, 2008 | 43% | 41% | – | 16% |
| Zogby[184] | August 11, 2008 | 45% | 36% | — | — |
| Quinnipiac University[185] | August 10, 2008 | 40% | 41% | 1% | 17% |
"*" denotes voluntary response only. In the August 26–30 FDU poll, 4% also responded "neither" or "other."
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Chris Christie | 1,174,445 | 48.46% |  5.43 | |
| Democratic | Jon Corzine (incumbent) | 1,087,731 | 44.88% | 8.59 | |
| Independent | Chris Daggett | 139,579 | 5.76% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Kenneth R. Kaplan | 4,830 | 0.20% | 0.47 | |
| Independent | Gary T. Steele | 3,585 | 0.15% | N/A | |
| Independent | Jason Cullen | 2,869 | 0.12% | N/A | |
| Independent | David R. Meiswinkle | 2,598 | 0.11% | N/A | |
| Independent | Kostas Petris | 2,563 | 0.11% | N/A | |
| Socialist | Gregory Pason | 2,085 | 0.09% | N/A | |
| Independent | Gary Stein | 1,625 | 0.07% | N/A | |
| Independent | Joshua Leinsdorf | 1,021 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Independent | Alvin Lindsay, Jr. | 753 | 0.03% | N/A | |
| Majority | 86,714 | 3.58% | −6.87% | ||
| Turnout | 2,423,684 | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | ||||
| County | Christie % | Christie votes | Corzine % | Corzine votes | Daggett % | Daggett votes | Other % | Other votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 48.53% | 35,724 | 45.32% | 33,360 | 4.91% | 3,611 | 1.24% | 913 |
| Bergen | 46.26% | 121,446 | 48.52% | 127,386 | 4.74% | 12,452 | 0.48% | 1,262 |
| Burlington | 48.41% | 66,723 | 45.79% | 63,114 | 4.59% | 6,333 | 1.21% | 1,669 |
| Camden | 39.29% | 52,337 | 54.93% | 73,171 | 4.63% | 6,166 | 1.15% | 1,526 |
| Cape May | 54.34% | 18,992 | 38.28% | 13,379 | 6.08% | 2,126 | 1.29% | 451 |
| Cumberland | 41.75% | 14,079 | 50.69% | 17,092 | 5.82% | 1,962 | 1.74% | 586 |
| Essex | 27.53% | 50,240 | 67.31% | 122,640 | 4.52% | 8,240 | 0.74% | 1,357 |
| Gloucester | 47.26% | 39,815 | 43.99% | 37,066 | 8.04% | 6,777 | 0.70% | 593 |
| Hudson | 26.08% | 30,820 | 69.44% | 82,075 | 3.40% | 4,017 | 1.08% | 1,280 |
| Hunterdon | 65.75% | 33,360 | 25.41% | 12,893 | 8.08% | 4,098 | 0.76% | 387 |
| Mercer | 39.27% | 39,769 | 54.51% | 55,199 | 5.36% | 5,424 | 0.86% | 874 |
| Middlesex | 47.42% | 94,506 | 45.02% | 89,732 | 6.54% | 13,034 | 1.02% | 2,023 |
| Monmouth | 62.24% | 129,039 | 31.19% | 64,672 | 5.76% | 11,952 | 0.80% | 1,658 |
| Morris | 60.04% | 99,085 | 31.26% | 51,586 | 8.07% | 13,321 | 0.62% | 1,031 |
| Ocean | 65.73% | 124,238 | 28.44% | 53,761 | 4.80% | 9,068 | 1.03% | 1,955 |
| Passaic | 43.78% | 48,500 | 51.46% | 57,010 | 3.87% | 4,288 | 0.89% | 981 |
| Salem | 47.18% | 9,599 | 40.91% | 8,323 | 9.88% | 2,011 | 2.02% | 411 |
| Somerset | 56.23% | 57,481 | 34.33% | 35,089 | 8.72% | 8,911 | 0.72% | 740 |
| Sussex | 63.69% | 31,749 | 25.82% | 12,870 | 9.15% | 4,563 | 1.33% | 664 |
| Union | 42.15% | 56,769 | 51.13% | 68,867 | 5.94% | 7,999 | 0.79% | 1,058 |
| Warren | 62.35% | 20,174 | 26.10% | 8,446 | 9.97% | 3,226 | 1.58% | 510 |
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Campaign websites (Archived)