It’s Corzine v. Christie

Democratic New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine will face Republican candidate Chris Christie in November’s gubernatorial race.

Christie, who served as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2008, beat out former Bogata mayor Steve Lonegan last week in the primary election to secure the GOP nomination.

Christie has a record of prosecuting corruption cases and as U.S. attorney his office produced winning convictions and guilty pleas from more than 130 public officials, according to his Web site.

Christie holds a law degree from Seton Hall University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware. Before his U.S. attorney stint, Christie was a Morris County freeholder from 1995 to 1997.

Corzine has seen low approval ratings over the past few months while tackling growing job losses, budget deficits and spending cuts, and attempting to rein in high debt levels. The state has more than $32 billion of outstanding debt and roughly 10% of the fiscal 2010 budget will go towards debt service costs.

In a June 3 Rasmussen Reports poll, which selected 500 likely voters, 51% said they would vote for Christie while 38% said they would re-elect Corzine.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM BOND BUYER