Jon Corzine Democratic Chris Christie Republican 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.

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.

[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 former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan.

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.

Economists Art Laffer and Peter Schiff also endorsed Lonegan, as did New Jersey General Assemblyman Michael J. Doherty.

Write-in candidates Corzine kicked off his campaign in June criticizing his Republican opponents and tying them to former president George W.

[50] The Republican Governors Association shot back, releasing two of its own television ads showing how Corzine had broken campaign promises on June 16.

[52] 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 Thomas Kean, announced that he had raised enough money to qualify for public funds and to qualify for participation in the debates.

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.

"[54] Similarly, state senator Marcia Karrow, a Christie campaign coordinator in Hunterdon County, declared that Daggett voters "might as well pull the lever for Corzine.

[59] 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.

[63]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.

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.

[69] 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.

Others mentioned for the post had included former congressman Bob Franks, State Senators Diane Allen and Jennifer Beck, and Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan.

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.

Others mentioned for the post had included Edison Mayor Jun Choi and Passaic County freeholder James Gallagher.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[92] 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.