November 2, 2009
Posted: November 2nd, 2009 03:59 PM ET
From CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser (CNN) - With just hours to go until Election day, two new polls suggest New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's in a statistical tie with his Republican challenger, Chris Christie. According to a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind survey released Monday afternoon, 43 percent of likely New Jersey voters back Corzine, the Democratic incumbent fighting for a second term, and 41 percent support Christie, the former federal prosecutor in the Garden State. Eight percent back independent candidate Chris Daggett, and 7 percent support other candidates, or are undecided. Corzine's 2-point advantage is well within the poll's sampling error. Christie was up 2 points over Corzine in a Fairleigh Dickenson University survey released Friday. Christie's 2 point advantage is also well within the poll's sampling error. A Quinnpiac survey released last Wednesday had indicated that Corzine held a 5 point lead, not quite large enough to be statistically significant in that poll. Most surveys in New Jersey over the past seven weeks have suggested that Corzine and Christie were deadlocked, with Daggett polling in the low double digits. The poll indicates that 38 percent of Daggett supporters say they might change their mind. Thirty-nine percent say Corzine is their second choice, while 29 percent say Christie is number two. Only one in ten Christie backers and just 13 percent of Corzine backers say they might change their mind. "Daggett is the key to an incredibly close New Jersey election," says Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "In most races - including the one in Virginia this year - the outcome hinges on turnout," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But in New Jersey, the outcome is likely to be determined by the size of the vote for minor-party candidates. If turnout is relatively high but all the extra voters choose an independent candidate, that won't affect the margin between the Democrat and the Republican." The Quinnipiac University poll was conducted October 27-November 1, with 1,533 New Jersey likely voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll was conducted October 22-November 1, with 1,119 New Jersey likely voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Filed under: Chris Christie Chris Daggett Jon Corzine New Jersey Polls
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