Gov. Jon Corzine (gov)

The daggers being thrown in the New Jersey’s governor’s race are getting personal.

In an interview with The Press of Atlantic City, Gov. Jon Corzine when asked if he thought challenger Chris Christie (R) was fat, the governor touched his hairless head, smiled and said, “Am I bald?”

Corzine recently has come under criticism for an ad in which he appeared to make fun of challenger Christie’s weight. In the ad, which takes aim at Christie for using his authority as a U.S. Attorney to avoid problems related to his driving record. The voice over in the ad state: “Christie threw his weight around as U.S. Attorney and got off easy.

Chris Christie (Christie for Governor)

During the interview, Corzine told The Press of Atlantic City, “People who flash their credentials or use their offices to accomplish something, people say ‘people threw their weight around.”

Chris Daggett (Daggett for Governor)

In related news, both candidates took a hit this weekend when The Star-Ledger of New Jersey, the state’s largest newspaper, endorsed third party candidate Chris Daggett (I). In its endorsement, the paper wrote: “The newspaper’s decision is less a rejection of Gov. Jon Corzine and Republican Chris Christie than a repudiation of the parties they represent, both of which have forfeited any claim to the trust and confidence of the people of New Jersey. They share responsibility for the state’s current plight.”

Daggett, as you can see from the photo to the left, is neither fat nor bald. Perhaps that helps explain the newspaper endorsement?

Gov. Jon Corzine

New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie is weathering recent controversies stemming from his tenure as the state’s U.S. Attorney, a new poll finds. The Republican challenger leads New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) by 10 points among likely voters, or 47-37 percent, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today. The survey also found 7 percent of likely voters support independent candidate Christopher Daggett. A Quinnipiac poll taken three weeks ago found Christie with a narrower lead over Corzine, 46 to 40 percent. Daggett garnered 7 percent.

The new poll also found 77 percent of likely voters have seen ads produced by Corzine attacking Christie for contracts he awarded when he was New Jersey U.S. Attorney. Of those people, 56 percent said the ads are an unfair attack, compared with 36 percent who said the contacts are a legitimate campaign issue.

Chris Christie (Gov)

In addition, 49 percent of likely voters who have heard the news about an unreported loan Christie made to a then-subordinate in the U.S. Attorney office, Michele Brown, believe the Corzine camp’s criticisms of it are unfair. Forty-three percent said the attacks are fair. The poll also found 96 percent of likely voters believe government corruption is a “somewhat serious” or “very serious” problem. Voters associated Democrats with corruption, with 50 percent of likely voters saying Democrats are more likely to be corrupt compared with 16 percent who cited Republicans. Christie has campaigned on a platform of ethics reform.

The poll of 1,612 New Jersey likely voters was conducted Aug. 25 to 30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

Polls are all over the map for the race between Republican Chris Christie and Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine for New Jersey governor. Yesterday, Main Justice reported on a poll by Neighborhood Research — run by conservative strategist Rick Shaften, who was a consultant to Christie’s GOP primary opponent — that showed Christie with a narrow 2 percent lead among likely voters. Previous polls had the former U.S. Attorney in New Jersey leading the governor by as much as 12 percent.

Here’s a round-up of today’s poll results:

• Rasumussen. Had Christie leading Corzine by 11 points, or 47 to 36 percent, PolitickerNJ reported. However, his lead drops to 8 points when “leanersâ€� are factored in. A Rasmussen poll conducted three weeks ago had Christie ahead of Corzine by 13 points, or 50 to 37 percent.
• Democracy Corps. Had Christie only two points ahead of Corzine, 43 to 41 percent, when results for independent Chris Daggett were included. Read the poll results here. Daggett garnered 7 percent support. Another Democracy Corps poll two weeks ago had Christie up by 5 points, or 40 to 35 percent over Corzine, with Daggett getting 10 percent.

The bright spot for the Republican: On the issue of reducing government corruption, voters trust Christie over Corzine, 47 to 25 percent, accoording to the new Rasmussen poll.  The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.

The bad news for Christie: 51 percent viewed him unfavorably in today’s Rasumussen poll. Still, Corzine fared even worse, with a 61 percent unfavorable rating for the governor, who’s suffered from voter dissastisfaction over the economy. The poll of 500 likely voters was conducted Tuesday, after a week of bad news reports for Christie, including revelations that he’d discussed a run for governor with Bush White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove while he was still U.S. Attorney. It was also revealed that he’d made a $46,000 loan to a subordinate in the U.S. Attorney’s office that he didn’t report on his income tax or financial disclosure forms.