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Palin wasn't exactly a welcome presence in Virginia and New Jersey during both governor's races.

CEDAR CREEK, Texas (CNN) – Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell, the soon-to-be-governors of New Jersey and Virginia, both deflected questions Wednesday about why Sarah Palin did not appear with the two Republicans during their respective campaigns.

Christie said he only had three GOP heavyweights visit New Jersey during his campaign - Rudy Giuliani, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney - and each came for a specific reason.

“I had a long standing relationship with Mayor Giuliani,” Christie explained. “Gov. Pawlenty and Gov. Romney both faced the same type of crises financially in their state when they took over that we did.”

McDonnell said his campaign had reached out to Palin nearly a year ago to campaign in Virginia, but said she was overwhelmed with requests at the time. When she stepped down as governor of Alaska in July, McDonnell said, their visitor lineup had already been set - a full four months before election day in Virginia.

“We thought she was a good leader for the party as the governor of Alaska and had some good reforms in the state, but she was in such incredible demand frankly for the longest time we were not able to work out anything for her to come in,” he said. “And then after she decided to leave office we had pretty much already arranged all of the folks that we had for the home stretch for fundraisers, including several current and former governors, and so we pretty much had our strategy set at that point.”

Christie and McDonnell made the comments at a news conference held during the Republican Governors Association's annual meeting near Austin.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Fresh off their decisive victories last week in Virginia and New Jersey, governors-to-be Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie will travel to Texas next week to meet with their future GOP colleagues at the Republican Governors Association annual conference in Austin, aides to the governors-elect said.

The two men will be introduced to their fellow Republicans with a celebratory video at the conference's opening session, according to an RGA spokesman.

Both Republicans are slated to speak later that day at an outdoor barbecue and will also hold a press conference alongside RGA chairman Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi.

(CNN) - Republican Chris Christie defeated incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine Tuesday, giving the GOP a rare Northeast win and a sweep of the night's gubernatorial races.

The former New Jersey attorney general became the first Republican governor of the state since 1997, and the first challenger to defeat an incumbent governor since Christie Todd Whitman defeated Democrat Jim Florio in 1993.

Corzine, who trailed Christie by double digits in several summer surveys, battled his way back to a statistical tie with his GOP challenger for much of the race's final weeks.

Despite Corzine's dismal poll numbers, he came into the race with a solid structural advantage. The former swing state has turned blue in recent years, with a majority-Democratic congressional delegation, two Democratic senators, and a Democratic hold on the governor's mansion for more than a decade.

President Obama, who won the state by a double-digit margin last fall and remains popular in the Garden State, visited several times to campaign on the governor's behalf.

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Exit poll: Economy concerns New Jersey voters most.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The economy was the most important issue on the minds of New Jersey voters Tuesday, early CNN Exit Poll data showed.

Nearly a third of the voters heading to the polls in this off-year election pitting Democratic Gov. John Corzine against Republican Chris Christie, 31 percent, said the economy was the most important issue, while 26 percent said property taxes, 20 percent indicated corruption and 18 percent identified health care.

Soaring property taxes and a high profile corruption sting that snared state and local officials have been important issues in this year's election.

More complete data will be released later in the evening. Polls close in New Jersey at 8 p.m. ET.

(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.
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The New Jersey race is too close to call.

(CNN) – With one day to go until Election day, a new poll suggests New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's in a statistical tie with his Republican challenger, Chris Christie.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Monday morning, 42 percent of likely New Jersey voters back Christie, the former federal prosecutor in the Garden State, with 40 percent supporting Corzine, the Democratic incumbent fighting for a second term, and 12 percent backing Independent candidate Chris Daggett. Six percent remain undecided.

Christie's two point advantage is well within the poll's sampling error. A Quinnpiac University survey released Wednesday indicated that Corzine held a 5 point lead, just within in the poll's sampling error. Christie was up 2 points over Corzine in a Fairleigh Dickenson University survey released Friday. Most surveys in New Jersey over the past seven weeks have suggested that Corzine and Christie were deadlocked, with Daggett 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.

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Candidates and outside groups have spent nearly $37 million on ads in New Jersey.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Candidates and outside groups in New Jersey's highly contested gubernatorial race have spent nearly $37 million dollars on advertising since May.

Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign tops the charts spending nearly $19 million dollars on 10,161 advertisements compared to the nearly $9 million spent by Republican challenger Chris Christie. Independent candidate Chris Daggett has spent $257,447 on advertisements in the state according to analysis by TNSMI-CMAG, CNN's consultant on political advertising.

Corzine, who is estimated to be spending nearly $2 million a week on advertising has been increasingly negative in his ads, a move seen by many as a means to close the gap in the polls.

Evan Tracey, of TNSMI-CMAG, said according to his analysis, Corzine is well on track to spend more than $20 million by Tuesday when voters head to the polls.

The Republican Governors Association is lending a helping hand to Christie, spending just over $5 million on 6,032 advertisements. The Mid Atlantic Leadership Fund, a Washington based firm which usually backs Democratic candidates, has spent nearly $2 million on behalf of Corzine's campaign for re-election.

Late October polls show Corzine and Christie polling neck-and-neck, while Independent candidate Chris Daggett continues to make gains, primarily peeling support away from the Republican challenger.

The race for NJ governor appears to be a dead heat.'

(CNN) - With four days until Election Day, a new poll suggests that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is tied with his Republican challenger, Chris Christie.

According to a Fairleigh Dickinson University survey released Friday morning, 41 percent of likely New Jersey voters back Christie, the former federal prosecutor in the Garden State, with 39 percent supporting Corzine, the Democratic incumbent fighting for a second term, and 14 percent backing Independent candidate Chris Daggett.

Christie's 2 point lead is well with in the poll's sampling error.

A Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday morning indicated that Corzine held a 5 point advantage over Christie, just within that poll's sampling error. Most surveys in New Jersey over the past six weeks have suggested that Corzine and Christie were deadlocked, with Daggett in the low double digits.

"At this point, anyone who says their vote doesn't count is mistaken," says Peter Woolley, director of the Fairleigh Dickinson poll.

"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 Fairleigh Dickinson University poll was conducted October 22-28, with 694 New Jersey likely voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter @psteinhausercnn

Chris Christie wants Jon Corzine to 'man up.'

(CNN) - Chris Christie wants Jon Corzine to "man up" and come right out and say the New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate is fat.

Speaking on Don Imus' morning show Thursday, Christie called alleged efforts by the Corzine campaign to subtly invoke his weight "silly."

"If you're going to do it, at least man up and say I'm fat," Christie said on the show. "Afterwards [Gov. Corzine] wusses out and says, 'Oh no, no, I didn't mean that, I don't know what you're talking about.' Man up - if you say I'm fat let's go, let's talk about it."

In a Corzine ad released last month, a rotund Christie is shown emerging from a car in slow motion shortly after the narrator declares the former federal prosecutor "threw his weight around" to get government favors.

Corzine has insisted the ad is not meant to be a reference to Christie's weight but rather what the New Jersey Democrat describes as the "special treatment" he procured from his position.

But in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Monday, Corzine said that in retrospect, the ad should have used different wording than "threw his weigh around."

Corzine now holds a 5 point lead, according to a new poll.

(CNN) - With six days until Election Day, a new poll suggests that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine leads his Republican challenger, Chris Christie, by 5 points.

According to a Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday morning, 43 percent of likely New Jersey voters back Corzine, the Democratic incumbent fighting for a second term, 38 percent support Christie, the former federal prosecutor in the Garden State, and 13 percent back Independent candidate Chris Daggett.

Corzine's 5 point lead is just with in the poll's sampling error. The race between Corzine and Christie was tied up in Quinnipiac's last poll, which came out two weeks ago. Most surveys in New Jersey over the past month have suggested that Corzine and Christie were deadlocked, with Daggett in the mid teens.

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Gov. Corzine insisted Monday that a controversial ad was not about his Republican challenger's weight.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said Monday that a recent ad about his Republican challenger should have used a different expression than "threw his weight around," a turn-of-phrase which some political observers took as an effort to ridicule Chris Christie because of his waistline.

Late last month, the Democratic governor released a campaign ad that focused on what the Corzine campaign views as Republican Christie's track record of using his status as a U.S. attorney to gain special treatment in New Jersey. But the ad measured accusations by "weight."

"If you drove the wrong way down a one-way street, causing an accident and putting the victim in a trauma center...would you get away without a ticket?" the announcer said in the 30-second Corzine television ad. "Chris Christie did...."

"Christie threw his weight around as U.S. attorney and got off easy," the ad said.

In a recent debate and last week on CNN's "Situation Room," Christie directly responded to the ad's implication about his size.

"I'll let all of your audience in on a little secret," Christie told CNN's Wolf Blitzer last Wednesday, "I'm overweight and I've struggled with my weight for the last 30 years on and off and that's the way it is."

Christie also told Blitzer that he thought the Corzine ad was "beneath the office [Corzine] holds," and the New Jersey Republican slammed his opponent for not admitting that the ad was targeted at his weight rather than his conduct.

Appearing on "Situation Room" Monday, Corzine insisted that the controversial ad was meant to highlight Christie's behavior.

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Gov. Corzine insisted Monday that a controversial ad was not about his Republican challenger's weight.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said Monday that a recent ad about his Republican challenger should have used a different expression than "threw his weight around," a turn-of-phrase which some political observers took as an effort to ridicule Chris Christie because of his waistline.

Late last month, the Democratic governor released a campaign ad that focused on what the Corzine campaign views as Republican Christie's track record of using his status as a U.S. attorney to gain special treatment in New Jersey. But the ad measured accusations by "weight."

"If you drove the wrong way down a one-way street, causing an accident and putting the victim in a trauma center...would you get away without a ticket?" the announcer said in the 30-second Corzine television ad. "Chris Christie did...."

"Christie threw his weight around as U.S. attorney and got off easy," the ad said.

In a recent debate and last week on CNN's "Situation Room," Christie directly responded to the ad's implication about his size.

"I'll let all of your audience in on a little secret," Christie told CNN's Wolf Blitzer last Wednesday, "I'm overweight and I've struggled with my weight for the last 30 years on and off and that's the way it is."

Christie also told Blitzer that he thought the Corzine ad was "beneath the office [Corzine] holds," and the New Jersey Republican slammed his opponent for not admitting that the ad was targeted at his weight rather than his conduct.

Appearing on "Situation Room" Monday, Corzine insisted that the controversial ad was meant to highlight Christie's behavior.

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Republican Chris Christie and Independent Chris Daggett trail Gov. Jon Corzine, a new poll suggests.

(CNN) – With eight days left until voters go to the polls, a new survey suggests that New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has opened up a 9 point lead over his Republican challenger, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.

Most polls in New Jersey over the past month have indicated that the race between Corzine and Christie was tied or within the margin of error, with Independent candidate Chris Daggett polling in the low double digits.

But according to a Suffolk University poll released Monday, 42 percent of likely Garden State voters back Corzine, while 33 percent support Christie and 7 percent back Daggett. Fourteen percent of those questioned said they are undecided.

"That 14 percent figure is high compared to other recent New Jersey polls, which have shown the undecideds closer to six or seven percent," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "That may account for some of the difference between the Suffolk poll and others. If Christie voters are hiding in the undecided category, that may mean a closer race than the poll indicates."

The poll also suggests that regardless of how whom they support, nearly six in ten voters believe Corzine will win - double the amount of people who think Christie will come out on top.

The Suffolk University of Massachusetts poll was conducted October 22-25, with 400 likely New Jersey voters questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Polls show Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican candidate Chris Christie in a dead heat.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– The heated race for Governor in New Jersey is about to get a whole lot tougher in the final 10 days, according to the campaigns of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican candidate Chris Christie.

Both campaigns will be doubling down on events to get their message out, but they are also counting on a last-minute boost from top party leaders.

President Barack Obama will head back to New Jersey next Sunday to campaign for Corzine, and former President Bill Clinton will be in the state Tuesday for two events with the governor.

"We have a lot of events and a myriad of guests," Corzine campaign manager Maggie Moran told CNN in a phone interview. Others scheduled to campaign are various Cabinet secretaries, including Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Moran said the campaign will be focused on targeting specific demographic groups that might not normally vote in a non-presidential election year.

"You will see a series of literally hundreds of events going on in different counties in New Jersey," Moran said.

According to Christie's senior campaign adviser Mike DuHaime, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani will join Christie in New Jersey sometime next weekend for multiple campaign stops.

In a phone interview, DuHaime said the campaign is going to focus in the final days on Christie's differences with Corzine.

"I think what you're going to see is continued contrast on the biggest issue that's facing this state and that's the taxes," he said.

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A new poll of New Jersey voters suggests independent candidate Chris Daggett, center, continues to make gains.

(CNN) - A new poll of New Jersey voters suggests independent candidate Chris Daggett continues to make gains in that state's highly competitive gubernatorial race, primarily peeling support away from Republican challenger Chris Christie in campaign's final days.

Daggett, whom the Newark Star-Ledger surprisingly endorsed earlier this month, stands at 20 percent in the new survey conducted by Rutgers University, the highest level of support the former administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency has registered in any poll of the race to date.

Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine meanwhile holds a narrow lead over Christie, the state's former district attorney, 39 percent to 36 percent. But given the poll's 4 percentage point sampling error, the two are statistically tied.

"A rule of thumb among political junkies says that that the actual vote for a third-party candidate tends to be roughly half of what that candidate was getting in pre-election polls around Labor Day," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "But Daggett has been gaining ground since those Labor Day polls, so he may be one of the few independents who finishes strong and has a significant impact on the final results."

If nothing else, Daggett's growing support could mean the ultimate victor wins with less than 40 percent of the vote, a reflection of how unsatisfied New Jersey voters appear to be with all three candidates.

The Rutgers survey also shows both Christie and Corzine have net negative approval ratings and voters are deeply concerned with taxes, unemployment, and corruption in the state.

The poll of 583 likely voters was conducted October 15-20.

(CNN) - As New Jersey's three gubernatorial candidates get set to debate for the second time Friday night, a new poll suggests the race is a dead heat heading into the final stretch.

According to a New York Times survey of likely voters, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine holds a 3 point lead over Republican Chris Christie, 40 percent to 37 percent. Corzine's slim lead is within the poll's 4 percentage point sampling error, suggesting the race is statistically tied. The survey also shows independent candidate Chris Daggett continues to garner double digit support with 14 percent.

But 30 percent of voters in the poll who named a candidate said they may change their mind before Election Day, a clear sign neither Corzine nor Christie has made the final sale with three weeks left until voters head to the polls.

The Times survey, which included 987 adults between October 11-14, has similar findings to a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this week that had the race at 40-41 percent in favor of Christie.

There is more evidence Wednesday that with 20 days until the November election, the battle for New Jersey's top job is a dead heat.

(CNN) - There is more evidence Wednesday that with 20 days until the November election, the battle for New Jersey's top job is a dead heat.

Forty percent of New Jersey likely voters questioned in a new Quinnipiac University poll say they back Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine, with 41 percent supporting Republican challenger Chris Christie. According to the survey, 12 percent say they'll vote for independent candidate Christopher Daggett.

Christie, the former federal prosecutor in New Jersey, held a four point lead over Corzine in Quinnipiac's poll from two weeks ago, with Daggett at 12 percent.

Two other surveys out over the last week, a Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll and Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey survey, also indicated that the New Jersey gubernatorial contest was all tied up.

The new Quinnipiac poll suggests that 76 percent of Democrats back Corzine, 83 percent of Republicans support Christie, and independents back Christie 45 to 32 percent, with 16 percent supporting Daggett.

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Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign released a new ad Tuesday called 'Expect'.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign released a new ad Tuesday that ties Republican opponent Chris Christie to former President George W.Bush, and to conservative culture war stands on social issues and gun control.

"What can you expect from Chris Christie? A governor who'll repeat the failed Bush economics," the announcer says.

The 30-second spot title "Expect," points to Christie's positions on abortion, stem cell research, and gun laws - a laundry list of Corzine's campaign trail attacks on his GOP challenger. "A governor who doesn't share our values. Chris Christie. Wrong when it matters most," the ad concludes.

A Farleigh Dickinson University survey released earlier this month suggests Corzine and Christie are now neck-and-neck among registered voters, 44 percent to 43 percent, with 9 percent undecided.

Voters in New Jersey head to the polls on November 3.

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie Tuesday lands what his campaign calls a major endorsement.

(CNN) – New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie Tuesday lands what his campaign calls a major endorsement.

Christie is scheduled to hold a press conference in Trenton to announce the New Jersey Environmental Federation's endorsement of his candidacy, according to a source close to the Christie campaign. The group is breaking with the Democrat in the race, Gov. Jon Corzine, whom they backed in the 2005 election.

The New Jersey Environmental Federation is a non-profit, action-oriented organization developing a growing coalition of community, environmental, student and labor organizations able to act on a broad range of environmental issues, according to a description on their Web site.

Corzine is facing a tough bid for re-election, but recent polls suggest he's recovering. Three survey's out over the past week indicate that the battle between Corzine and Christie, the former federal prosecutor in New Jersey, is basically a dead heat, with Independent Christopher Daggett grabbing a small percentage of the vote.

Another environmental organization, the Sierra Club, has endorsed Daggett, a former state Environmental Protection Commissioner.

Republican challenger Chris Christie, left, trails New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, right, by a single point in a new poll out Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A month before Election Day, New Jersey’s Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine is now in a virtual tie with his Republican challenger, according to a new poll out Tuesday.

Forty-four percent of likely New Jersey voters support Corzine while 43 percent support Republican Chris Christie. Four percent say they will vote for independent candidate Chris Daggett, and five percent are undecided.

“With the start of an advertising blitz and the raw exposure of the debate [last week], the race has tightened to a dead heat,” said Peter Woolley, director of the Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll released Tuesday.

In a Fairleigh Dickinson survey released a month ago, Christie held a 5 point lead over Corzine, 47 percent to 42 percent, in a two-person race, with 6 percent unsure. Christie was also ahead by 6 points in the Fairleigh Dickinson poll conducted in July.

Tuesday’s survey of 667 likely New Jersey voters statewide and was conducted by telephone from September 28 through October 5 and has a sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.