Incumbent Governor John Corzine lost his re-election bid in New Jersey to Republican Chris Christie.

The race, which was very tight throughout, was influenced by third-party maverick Chris Daggett. Daggett argued that people were fed up with both parties and polled in double figures, while the two major party-candidates struggled to get over 40 percent in the polls.

Corzine’s approval ratings were very low throughout the campaign. With a favorable rating of 39 percent and an unfavorable rating of 51 percent, Corzine needed an energetic Democratic base to turn out for him to have a chance to win. One reason for that was his failure to achieve property tax relief for middle-class voters. New Jersey property taxes rose an average of $7,000 this year. Four years ago Corzine promised to reduce property tax rates. Poll after poll in the state put that issue as one of the most important to voters.

Corzine’s loss is a blow to Democrats, who consider New Jersey one of their safest states. The winner, Chris Christie, is a former federal prosecutor who was outspent by a large margin by Corzine, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs.

Despite Corzine’s low approval numbers, Christie failed to build a significant lead in the polls. As we reported earlier, the exit polls seem to suggest that supporters of third-party candidate Chris Daggett broke late to Christie.

--Scott Galindez