Election Guide: State Races

State of New Jersey Races

Governor of New Jersey

Four-Year Term (Jan. 19, 2010 - Jan. 21, 2014)

The Governor of New Jersey is the state's chief executive officer. Considered the most powerful governorship in the United States, the governor proposes the state budget, signs and vetoes legislation and administers the operations of state government.

Democratic Nominee Jon Corzine: Democrat Jon Corzine is the incumbent governor of New Jersey. He was first elected in 2005 and is seeking a second term. If re-elected, he will be term limited out of office at the end of a second term.

Prior to being elected governor, he served five years as a United States Senator representing New Jersey. Prior to entering public service, he worked professionally at Goldman Sachs, including a stint as chairman of the company. He is a former chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. A resident of Hoboken, Corzine previously resided in Summit.

Corzine has based his campaign on his record in office, citing his work on economic policy, along with health and education policy. He has been endorsed by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Record, The Trenton Times, The Jersey Journal, The New York Daily News and the Gloucester County Times.

ARTICLE/VIDEO: Jon Corzine meets with breast cancer survivors.

Republican Chris Christie: A resident of Mendham, Republican Chris Christie is a former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. He held the top federal prosecutor's post from 2002 to 2008 in the administration of former President George W. Bush. While federal prosecutor, he was known for his work in corruption prosecutions. During the 1990s, he served one three-year term as a Morris County Freeholder.

He has unsuccessfully run for the General Assembly and for re-election as county freeholder.

Christie's campaign has been centered on his record as U.S. Attorney, along with saying that the incumbent has overtaxed state residents. He has been endorsed by the Courier-News, Home News Tribune, Courier-Post, Press of Atlantic City, Asbury Park Press, Daily Record, New York Post, Burlington County Times and The Trentonian.

ARTICLE: Chris Christie makes a campaign stop at the Rustic Mill Diner.

Independent Candidate Chris Daggett: The most serious independent gubernatorial candidate for governor in 12 years, Daggett has been running a campaign based on environmental and economic issues.

Daggett served in the administration of former Gov. Tom Kean in the 1980s as deputy chief of staff and commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection. While serving as deputy chief of staff, he focused on education issues for Gov. Kean. During the administration of former President Ronald Reagan, he served as regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, overseeing federal environmental policy and enforcement in New Jersey, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

He has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, the Star Ledger and the Express Times.

Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey (Elected on Ticket with Governor)

Four-Year Term (Jan. 19, 2010 - Jan. 21, 2014)

A newly created position, the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is the first in line of succession to the governorship. The duties of the position will be defined by the governor. The lieutenant governor can be assigned any of the duties given to the governor and can also be given a Cabinet position, with the exception of the office of state attorney general. In the event of the temporary incapacitation of the governor or the governor's absence from the state, the lieutenant governor will serve as the state's acting governor. In the event of a vacancy in the governor's office, the lieutenant governor will serve as acting governor until a special election is held for the remainder of the term. The office was created in 2005 in response to the gubernatorial vacancies following the resignations of Governors Whitman and McGreevey.

Democratic Nominee Loretta Weinberg: A state senator from Bergen County, Weinberg has served in the State Legislature since the 1990s. She has been a senator since 2005 and previously served as an assemblywoman from 1992 to 2005. She is a former councilwoman in Teaneck and a former assistant county administrator in Bergen County. She unsuccessfully ran for Bergen County Executive in the 1990s and is known for being a reform Democrat.

As lieutenant governor she intends to focus on family related issues, including education, health and human services.

Republican Nominee Kim Guadagno: Guadagno serves as the sheriff of Monmouth County, a position she was elected to in 2007. As sheriff she oversees the county's largest law enforcement agency. A former federal prosecutor, she also was deputy director of the state's criminal justice division. While a prosecutor, she prosecuted several public corruption cases, including several of the largest in New Jersey history. She was an elected town commissioner in Monmouth Beach, overseeing the Department of Public Works.

As lieutenant governor she intends to focus on economic development and regulatory reform.

Independent Candidate Frank Esposito: A professor at Kean University, Esposito worked in the administration of former Gov. Tom Kean on education issues, including writing the state's charter school law. He served as interim president of Kean University, along with several other administrative roles at the college.

As lieutenant governor he intends to focus on education and higher education policy.

New Jersey General Assembly - District 21

(Vote for Two)

Two Year Term (Jan. 12, 2010 - Jan. 10, 2012)

One of two chambers of the State Legislature, the General Assembly consists of 80 members elected from two member districts statewide. Cranford is located in District 21 which consists of towns in Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union Counties.

Democratic Party

Norman Albert of Cranford: An attorney who serves as a parttime attorney for Union County, Albert has made several unsuccessful runs for Assembly in previous years. He served one term on the Cranford Township Committee in the 1990s and was Mayor of Cranford in 1995. He was defeated for a second term on the Township Committee in Cranford.

Bruce Bergen of Springfield: An attorney, Bergen has made several unsuccessful runs for the Assembly in previous years. He serves as Township Attorney in Springfield and has represented other public clients in the region. He has also unsuccessfully run for Congress.

Republican Party

Jon Bramnick of Westfield: Bramnick was appointed to an Assembly seat in 2003 and was reelected in 2003, 2005 and 2007. An attorney in private practice, he serves as the Assembly minority whip and heads the GOP policy committee in the Assembly. He serves on the Law and Public Safety Committee and Consumer Affairs Committee and as the Republican Party chairman in Westfield. He previously served as a city councilman in Plainfield and unsuccessfully sought the Ward 1 seat on the Westfield Town Council in the 1990s.

Nancy Munoz of Summit: The first widow in state history to directly succeed her husband in the Legislature, Munoz was appointed to the Assembly in May 2009 after the sudden death of her husband, Eric Munoz. She serves on the Health and Senior Services Committee and the Human Services Committee. Munoz was appointed to the seat by a special convention of Republican committee members in the district and won a competitive primary. She is a nurse by profession and has been active in education groups in Summit. This is her first run for elective office.

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