New Jersey race is close -- and closely watched

Obama has made five campaign stops for Gov. Corzine

TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey's candidates for governor darted through the state on the last day of a campaign being billed as a vote on President Obama's popularity.

Obama has made five appearances in New Jersey to make his case for fellow Democrat Jon S. Corzine, the only governor seeking reelection, who is facing a tough challenge from Republican Chris Christie, a former prosecutor.

Republicans have not won statewide in New Jersey in a dozen years. Polls show the race as a tossup heading into Tuesday, and a Christie victory would sting the president in a state he carried by 15 percentage points a year ago.

Third-party candidate Chris Daggett, a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator, could influence the outcome.

Corzine and Christie divided their packed schedules Monday between battleground counties they see as must-wins and counties they're likely to carry but need big pluralities to win overall.

They and Daggett all planned stops in Bergen County -- the state's most populous, with 530,000 registered voters, nearly half unaffiliated with either major party.

The race will come down to whether Democrats can mobilize a significant turnout, particularly in cities, and whether voters who say they support Daggett stick with the independent despite his long odds, said Joseph Marbach, dean of arts and sciences at Seton Hall University in South Orange.

Obama urged 11,000 cheering supporters Sunday in Newark to give Corzine the same level of commitment they gave him.

"We will not lose this election if all of you are as committed as you were last year," Obama said at the rally, the second of two appearances on Corzine's behalf Sunday. "If you will let your voices shine through, you will not only reelect Jon Corzine, you will put New Jersey on a path for success for another four years."

Christie has also sought to tap into Obama's support, suggesting that he is the candidate who will bring change to New Jersey. One Christie television ad features an ethnically diverse selection of voters who say they voted for Obama and now support Christie.

Corzine beat his Republican opponent by 239,000 votes in 2005 but has since been hobbled by the economic recession. Unemployment in New Jersey is at 9.8 percent, and property taxes remain stubbornly high -- averaging $7,045 per household. Corzine was unable to deliver the tax relief he promised four years ago.

Christie, meanwhile, has been criticized for being too vague about how he would solve the state's nagging financial problems.