Governor Jon Corzine raised and spent about $27 million on his unsuccessful reelection effort – down significantly from four years ago, according to 20 day post-election reports released today by the Election Law Enforcement Commission.

Of Corzine’s $27 million, $25.3 million came from his own pocket in the form of self-loans and contributions.  

Governor-Elect Chris Christie, who accepted public financing, raised the maximum $11.9 million allowed under the state program and spent $11.4 million.  Independent Christopher Daggett, who also took matching funds from the state, took in $1.8 million and spent $1.6 million.

Collectively, the candidates raised $40.8 million – a 30% decrease from 2005, when Corzine and Republican Doug Forrester raised a total of $58.6 million.  That’s partly because Forrester did not accept public funds from the state that capped the amount he could raise and spend.  But Corzine’s spending was down from about $40 million in the last election.  Jeffrey Brindle, executive director of ELEC, also attributed the decline to the bad economy and the impact of new pay-to-play laws.