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2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election

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For related races, see 2009 United States gubernatorial elections.

2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election
← 2005 November 3, 2009 2013 →
Turnout46.9%[1]
 
Nominee Chris Christie Jon Corzine Chris Daggett
Party Republican Democratic Independent
Running mate Kim Guadagno Loretta Weinberg Frank Esposito
Popular vote 1,174,445 1,087,731 139,579
Percentage 48.5% 44.9% 5.8%
County results
Christie:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Corzine:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

Jon Corzine
Democratic

Elected Governor

Chris Christie
Republican

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The 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 2009.[2] Incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine ran for a second term against Republican Chris Christie, Independent Christopher Daggett and nine others, in addition to several write-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] Christie won the largest margin for a non-incumbent Republican since 1969.[4] Christie assumed office on January 19, 2010.

This was the first election to fill the newly created office of lieutenant 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. The 2009 election was also the first and to date, only time since 1961 when Bergen County did not support the winner of the state's gubernatorial election. It was also the first (and so far only) instance when the Republican candidate would emerge victorious in a statewide race without carrying the county as well. [citation needed]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Campaign

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 the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Atlantic City Expressway; perennial candidate Jeff Boss; and businessman and former Congressional candidate Roger Bacon. A Quinnipiac 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 President Joe Biden campaigned for him, saying that he and President Barack Obama would help him get re-elected. Biden also characterized Corzine as "America's governor."[9]

Results

Democratic primary results[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jon S. Corzine 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

Republican primary

Candidates

On ballot

Removed

  • David Brown, businessman[13]
  • Christian Keller[14]

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]

Campaign

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 former Bogota 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 to Steve Rothman for Congress in 1998 and finishing fourth (out of seven) in the Republican primary of the 2005 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 Governor Thomas Kean, Sr., businessman Steve Forbes, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt 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. Economists Art Laffer and Peter Schiff also endorsed Lonegan, as did New Jersey General Assemblyman Michael 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]

Debates

Two state-sponsored televised debates were held before the primary. The first, on May 12, was broadcast on NJN, while the other, held on May 17, was broadcast on the New York television station WABC-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.

Fundraising

Candidate Amount of money
Chris Christie $3 million
Steve Lonegan $500,000
Rick Merkt $44,000
[22]

Polling

Source Dates Administered Chris Christie Steve Lonegan Richard Merkt Difference between two top candidates
Rasmussen Reports May 27, 2009 46% 35% 4% 11%
Monmouth University May 20, 2009 50% 32% 2% 18%
Rasmussen Reports May 13, 2009 39% 29% 3% 10%
Quinnipiac University April 4–20, 2009 46% 37% 2% 9%
Fairleigh Dickinson University March 30 – April 5, 2009 44% 21% 2% 22%
Quinnipiac University March 4–9, 2009 45% 19% 1% 21%
Fairleigh Dickinson University February 25 – March 2, 2009 43% 15% 1% 28%
Quinnipiac University January 29 – February 2, 2009 44% 17% 2% 27%
Fairleigh Dickinson University January 2–7, 2009 32% 15% 5% 17%

Results

  Christie >= 50%
  Christie >= 60%
  Lonegan >= 40%
  Lonegan >= 50%
Republican primary results[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Christopher 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

General election

Candidates

Major

The following three candidates all qualified to appear in the state-sponsored debates.

Minor

The following nine candidates were third-party or independent candidates who qualified for the ballot but did not raise enough money to qualify for the state-sponsored debates.[26]

  • Jason Cullen, Riverdale Board of Health Chairman, ran under the banner People Not Politics[27]
  • Kenneth Kaplan, real estate broker and perennial candidate, was unanimously selected by the New Jersey Libertarian Party State Committee on April 26, 2009, to be the party's candidate for governor. Kaplan previously chaired the state party and sat on the state party's steering committee. He had been the Libertarian nominee for governor in 1993, and he has run for General Assembly on multiple occasions.[28][29]
  • Joshua Leinsdorf, a former Princeton School Board Member, ran under the banner Fair Election Party[27]
  • Alvin Lindsay, Jr. of Sewell ran under the banner Lindsay for Governor[27]
  • Attorney David R. Meiswinkle of East Windsor ran under the banner Middle Class Empowerment[30]
  • Greg Pason, National Secretary of the Socialist Party USA and a state committee member of the NJ National Writers Union,[31][32] ran as the Socialist candidate.
  • Kostas Petris of Bordentown ran under the banner For The People[27]
  • Attorney Gary T. Steele of Kinnelon ran under the banner Leadership, Independence, Vision[33]
  • Gary Stein of Mullica ran using different slogans in each county; for example, his slogan in Atlantic County was Rock The Boat.[27] Stein is not the same person as former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein.

Write-in candidates

Campaign

Corzine kicked off his campaign in June criticizing his Republican opponents and tying them to former President George W. Bush.[42] 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.[43] The Republican Governors Association shot back, releasing two of its own television ads showing how Corzine had broken campaign promises on June 16.[44]

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.[45]

The election became a three-way race on July 7, when independent candidate Christopher Daggett, a former regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and Deputy Chief of Staff to former governor Tom Kean, announced that he had raised enough money to qualify for public funds and to qualify for participation in the debates.[46] Both Democratic and Republican leaders took Daggett's campaign seriously. Only a day before the election, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee admitted to funding political robocalls in Somerset County attacking Christie and urging a vote for Daggett. Party chairman Joe 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 the New 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."[47] Similarly, state senator Marcia Karrow, a Christie campaign coordinator in Hunterdon County, declared that Daggett voters "might as well pull the lever for Corzine."[48]

On July 15, the New Jersey chapter of a liberal environmental group, the Sierra Club, released a report critical of the Corzine administration's environmental record, with New Jersey Executive Director Jeff Tittel stating that group believes "this will go down as the worst environmental administration in state history."[49] The state organization formally endorsed Daggett on August 17, its first endorsement of an independent candidate.[50]

Corzine was the target of a vigorous advertising campaign funded by the Christie campaign and the Republican 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 president George W. Bush, who appointed Christie to the U.S. Attorney's office in 2001. In August 2009, Bush political strategist Karl 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 the Hatch Act of 1939.[51] Corzine quickly incorporated this into his advertisements targeting Christie.[52]

The Corzine campaign filed requests under the Freedom of Information Act since March 2009 seeking records of budgets, travel expenses, and no-bid contracts from Christie's tenure as U.S. Attorney.[53] The U.S. Attorney's office did not release the requested documents before election day.[54] State Sen. Loretta Weinberg demanded an end to the "logjam" by the U.S. Attorney's office.[55] On August 12, Christie's successor, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph 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.[56]

On August 18, 2009, Christie acknowledged that he had loaned $46,000 to First Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Michele 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 his income tax returns or his mandatory financial disclosure report to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[57] 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 the Freedom of Information Act.[58] On August 25, Brown resigned from her post, stating that she does not want to be "a distraction" for the office.[57] Although the Corzine campaign sought to make the loan a major campaign issue, a Quinnipiac poll showed that only 43% of voters believed that the loan controversy was a legitimate attack, while a plurality of 49% called it an unfair attack.[59]

As of September 20, Corzine had put out 4,806 television advertisements to Christie's 1,393 ads.[60]

Debates

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 by NJN, Gannett New Jersey, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, was held on October 1 in Trenton. It was televised on NJN.[61] It was widely reported by mainstream media that Chris Daggett won the first debate.[62]

The second ELEC-sanctioned debate, sponsored by Fox News, The Record, WWOR-TV out of Secaucus, and WTXF-TV out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was held on October 16 at William Paterson University in Wayne. It was televised on WWOR-TV and WTXF-TV.[61][63]

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 on WBGO, a Newark-based jazz station, and was simulcast on WNYC out of New York City, WHYY-FM out of Philadelphia, and public radio stations throughout the state of New Jersey.[64] Christie and Daggett agreed to participate in a fourth debate, broadcast on the radio on New Jersey 101.5; Corzine declined to participate.[65]

There was also a debate between the three major candidates for lieutenant governor: Loretta Weinberg, Kim Guadagno, and Frank Esposito. This debate, sponsored by Leadership New Jersey, was held at Monmouth University in West Long Branch on October 8. It was televised on News 12 New Jersey and broadcast on the radio on New Jersey 101.5.[61]

Lieutenant governor factor

Main article: Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey

This was the first gubernatorial election since the position of lieutenant governor was created.[66] As such, this year's candidates were the first gubernatorial candidates in New Jersey history to pick running mates.[67] All 12 candidates for governor appearing on the ballot selected their running mates by the July 27, 2009 deadline.[68]

Christie, as the Republican nominee for governor, selected Monmouth Beach's Kim Guadagno, the sheriff of Monmouth County, as his running mate. Others mentioned for the post had included former Congressman Bob Franks, State Senators Diane Allen and Jennifer Beck, and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan.

Corzine, as the Democratic nominee, selected Teaneck's Loretta Weinberg, a New Jersey Senator and former New Jersey General Assemblywoman, as his running mate. Other mentioned for the post had included Newark Mayor and future U.S. Senator Cory Booker, New Jersey Senators Nia Gill and Barbara Buono, New Jersey General Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, and wealthy businessman Randal Pinkett.

Daggett, having qualified for matching funds, selected Ocean Township's Frank J. Esposito, a longtime professor and administrator at Kean University who served as an advisor to the Commissioner of Education in the Thomas Kean, Sr. administration, as his running mate. Others mentioned for the post had included Edison Mayor Jun Choi and Passaic County freeholder James Gallagher.

Other Lieutenant Governor candidates on the ballot:

  • Gloria Leustek of Gladstone ran with Jason Cullen (People Not Politics)
  • John Paff of Somerset ran with Kenneth Kaplan (NJ Libertarian Party)
  • Joanne Miller of Newark ran with Joshua Leinsdorf (Fair Election Party)
  • Eugene Harley of Wenonah ran with Alvin Lindsay, Jr. (Lindsay for Governor)
  • Noelani Musicaro of Hillsborough ran with David R. Meiswinkle (Middle Class Empowerment)
  • Costantino Rozzo of Vineland ran with Greg Pason (Socialist Party USA)
  • August Petris of Jackson ran with Kostas Petris (For The People)
  • Nancy A. Pennella of Towaco ran with Gary T. Steele (Leadership, Independence, Vision)
  • Cynthia Stein of Mullica ran with Gary Stein. The Steins used a different slogan in each county, for example: "Love And Marriage" in Warren County.

Regional factors

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 in Mercer County, Middlesex County, Union County, Passaic County, and Bergen 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 in Warren County, where he won with just 55% of the vote.[69] On the other hand, Corzine performed strongly in Bergen County, winning with almost 87% of the vote.[70] In the Republican primary, Christie lost some key Republican strongholds, such as Hunterdon County (where he received 45.8%[71]) and Warren County (where he received 46.9%[72]) to Lonegan.

According to a September 1 Quinnipiac University poll, Hudson County and Essex 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.[73] In contrast, Christie had upside-down ratings in those two counties but was viewed favorably by pluralities of voters in every other county except for Atlantic County, Ocean County, and Monmouth County, where a majority of voters viewed him favorably.

Political factors

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.[74] 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 the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.[75]

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 in Operation Bid Rig. Corzine was not a target of the probe; however, the office of a member of his cabinet, Commissioner of Community Affairs Joseph 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. Former EPA Regional Administrator Alan 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.[76] State Senator Ray 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."[77]

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 since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Prior to the 2009 election, no Republican had won a statewide election in New Jersey since 1997, when Governor Christine 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 Governor Thomas Kean in 1985, who won with 71% of the vote.[78] No Republican has won a U.S. Senate election in New Jersey since liberal Republican Clifford 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%.[79] 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 the economic 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.[80] These weak numbers indicated that he could be vulnerable against a strong Republican challenger.[81] Moreover, no Democrat has won re-election to the state governor's office since Brendan Byrne's victory in 1977.[82]

Some thought that Corzine would benefit from the popularity of President Barack 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 June Quinnipiac poll[83] to as low as 53% in a PPP poll, which is lower than what he obtained on election day in 2008.[84] 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.[85]

After Vice President Biden's June appearance at a "poorly attended" Corzine primary-night event, the Barack Obama administration approached President of the New Jersey Senate and former governor Richard Codey to consider running in the governor's place if the incumbent withdrew from his reelection bid, citing polls showing that Codey led Christie.[86] Obama held a campaign rally for Corzine on July 16. Originally the rally was set to be held at Rutgers University,[87] but ultimately it was held at the PNC Bank Arts Center instead.[88]

Endorsements

Chris Christie (R)
Newspapers
Organizations
Jon Corzine (D)
Newspapers
Elected Officials
Organizations
Unions
Chris Daggett (I)
Newspapers
Organizations

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Rothenberg Political Report[110] Tossup October 26, 2009

Polling

Source Dates Administered Jon
Corzine (D) 		Chris
Christie (R) 		Chris
Daggett (I) 		Undecided
Public Policy Polling October 31 – November 1, 2009 41% 47% 11% –
SurveyUSA/WABC-TV October 30 – November 1, 2009 42% 45% 10% 3%
Monmouth University/Gannett October 30 – November 1, 2009 43% 41% 8% —
Democracy Corps October 29 – November 1, 2009 41% 37% 15% 8%
Quinnipiac October 27 – November 1, 2009 40% 42% 12% 6%
Fairleigh Dickinson University October 22 – November 1, 2009 43% 41% 8% 5%
Monmouth University/Gannett October 28–30, 2009 42% 43% 8% 5%
Rasmussen Reports October 29, 2009 43% 46% 8% 3%
Zogby October 27–29, 2009 40% 39% 14% 6%
Neighborhood Research October 27–29, 2009 35% 42% 8% 15%
Democracy Corps October 27–28, 2009 43% 38% 12% 7%
SurveyUSA/WABC-TV October 26–28, 2009 43% 43% 11% 3%
Research 2000 October 26–28, 2009 41% 42% 14% 3%
Fairleigh Dickinson University October 22–28, 2009 39% 41% 14% 4%
Rasmussen Reports October 26, 2009 43% 46% 7% 4%
Public Policy Polling October 23–26, 2009 38% 42% 13% 6%
Quinnipiac October 20–26, 2009 43% 38% 13% 5%
Suffolk University October 22–25, 2009 42% 33% 7% 14%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research October 21–22, 2009 42% 39% 19% —
SurveyUSA October 19–21, 2009 39% 41% 19% 1%
Rutgers-Eagleton October 15–20, 2009 39% 36% 20% 5%
Rasmussen Reports October 19, 2009 39% 41% 11% 8%
Monmouth University October 15–18, 2009 39% 39% 14% 8%
Rasmussen Reports October 14, 2009 41% 45% 9% 5%
SurveyUSA/WABC-TV October 12–14, 2009 39% 40% 18% 3%
The New York Times October 9–14, 2009 40% 37% 14% 9%
Public Policy Polling October 9–12, 2009 39% 40% 13% 8%
Quinnipiac University October 7–12, 2009 40% 41% 14% 5%
Neighborhood Research October 6–8, 2009 35% 36% 11% 18%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research October 6–7, 2009 41% 38% 14% 7%
SurveyUSA October 5–7, 2009 40% 43% 14% 2%
Penn, Schoen & Berland Assoc. September 30 – October 5, 2009 38% 43% 13% 6%
Rasmussen Reports October 5, 2009 44% 47% 6% 3%
Fairleigh Dickinson University September 28 – October 5, 2009 38% 37% 17% 8%
Research 2000 September 28–30, 2009 42% 46% 7% 5%
Monmouth University September 24–29, 2009 40% 43% 8% 9%
Quinnipiac September 22–28, 2009 39% 43% 12% 6%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research September 22–23, 2009 39% 40% 11% 10%
Strategic Vision September 18–20, 2009 38% 46% 8% 8%
Rasmussen Reports September 14–17, 2009 41% 48% 6% 5%
Neighborhood Research September 14–17, 2009 33% 40% 7% 20%
Public Policy Polling September 11–14, 2009 35% 44% 13% 7%
Monmouth University September 8–10, 2009 39% 47% 5% 7%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research September 8–9, 2009 38% 41% 10% 10%
Rasmussen Reports September 9, 2009 38% 46% 6% 10%
Fairleigh Dickinson University August 26–30, 2009 42% 47% 1%* 6%
Quinnipiac University August 25–26, 2009 37% 47% 9% 6%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research August 25–26, 2009 41% 43% 7% 9%
Rasmussen Reports August 25, 2009 36% 47% 7% 11%
Neighborhood Research August 12–21, 2009 36% 39% 6% 19%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research August 11–12, 2009 35% 40% 10% 15%
Quinnipiac University August 11, 2009 42% 51% 7% 6%
Research 2000 August 5, 2009 40% 48% 3% 9%
Rasmussen Reports August 4, 2009 37% 50% 5% 8%
Monmouth University July 29 – August 2, 2009 36% 50% 5% 4%
Public Policy Polling July 24–27, 2009 36% 50% — 14%
Strategic Vision July 17–19, 2009 38% 53% 5% 4%
Monmouth University July 9–14, 2009 37% 45% 4% 13%
Quinnipiac University July 8–12, 2009 38% 47% 8% 7%
Basswood July 7, 2009 33% 48% – 19%
Rasmussen Reports July 7, 2009 39% 46% 5% 10%
Public Policy Polling June 27–29, 2009 41% 51% – 9%
Strategic Vision June 19–21, 2009 39% 51% 2% 8%
Quinnipiac University June 3–8, 2009 40% 50% 1% 9%
Rasmussen Reports June 3, 2009 38% 51% 5% 6%
Research 2000 May 25–27, 2009 39% 46% – 15%
Rasmussen Reports May 14, 2009 38% 47% 6% 9%
Monmouth University April 23–25, 2009 35% 39% 2% 18%
Quinnipiac University April 14–20, 2009 38% 45% 2% 14%
Fairleigh Dickinson University April 5, 2009 33% 42% — 25%
Rasmussen Reports March 10, 2009 34% 49% 7% 10%
Quinnipiac University March 4–9, 2009 37% 46% 1% 15%
Fairleigh Dickinson University February 25 – March 2, 2009 32% 41% — 27%
Quinnipiac University January 29 – February 2, 2009 38% 44% 2% 16%
Monmouth University January 12–14, 2009 38% 36% 2% 21%
Rasmussen Reports January 2–7, 2009 40% 42% 5% 13%
Fairleigh Dickinson January 2–7, 2009 40% 33% — 26%
Quinnipiac University November 17, 2008 42% 36% — —
Research 2000 September 11, 2008 43% 41% – 16%
Zogby August 11, 2008 45% 36% — —
Quinnipiac University August 10, 2008 40% 41% 1% 17%

"*" denotes voluntary response only. In the August 26–30 FDU poll, 4% also responded "neither" or "other."

Results

New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009[111]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Chris Christie 1,174,445 48.46% Increase 5.43
Democratic Jon Corzine (incumbent) 1,087,731 44.88% Decrease 8.59
Independent Chris Daggett 139,579 5.76% N/A
Libertarian Kenneth R. Kaplan 4,830 0.20% Decrease 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
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

County results

Results of the general election by municipality, darker colors indicate higher win percentage:
-Red municipalities won by Christie
-Blue municipalities won by Corzine
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

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

See also

References

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Campaign websites (Archived)

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