The Democratic State Committee now admits paying for a robocall to Somerset County voters that slams Republican Chris Christie and promotes independent gubernatorial candidate Christopher Daggett.

A Democratic spokeswoman says the party’s chairman, Joe Cryan, was not aware of the robocalls when he denied that the state committee had anything to do with them yesterday afternoon.

Cryan, who told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday afternoon that the Democratic State Committee had “absolutely” nothing to do with the call, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The call angered Republicans and further fueled conspiracy theories that Daggett is in cahoots with the Corzine camp.  A disclaimer at the end says it was paid for by Victory ’09, “a project of the NJDSC” (Democratic State Committee), and gave the committee’s Trenton address.  

Daggett, for his part, disavowed the call.

“Voters hate robocalls. This is just another instance of the dishonest ways Democrats and Republicans use to win campaigns and to fool voters,” he said in a statement this afternoon. “It is little wonder more and more voters are rejecting these kind of desperate dirty tricks and turning to my campaign for a positive message about how to make New Jersey more affordable and competitive.’’

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll today shows Gov. Jon Corzine at 43%, Republican Chris Christie at 41% and independent Chris Daggett at 8%.

Corzine’s slight lead over Christie is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3%.  

Poll Director Peter Woolley said that the 8% of Daggett supporters volunteered his name, although the interviewers did ID Daggett before they asked the head-to-head matchup question.

“Voters were reminded of his name before they were asked,” said Woolley.

The pollster dropped the head-to-head question that included Daggett's name.  

The results include those from the last FDU poll, which was released Friday, and include four additional days.  On Friday, the poll showed Corzine with a statistically insignificant one point lead over Chrisite, and Daggett at 6% from voters volunteering his name (when Daggett’s name was mentioned, he got 14% of the vote and Christie led Corzine by a statistically insignificant 2% -- 41% to 39%).  

Independent Chris Daggett, left, and his running mate, Frank Esposito

MONTCLAIR - Campaigning today in Montclair, independent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett appealed to movement conservatives to vote for him despite Steve Lonegan's amplified endorsement of GOP nominee Chrs Christie.

"I think the people who backed Steve Lonegan in the past aren't at all interested in supporting Chris Christie,' Daggett told PolitickerNJ.com. "I've seen it on the campaign trail. They know Chris Christie does not represent what they feel is in the best interest of this state in the sense of taking on the tax system and being able to reduce taxes as I've proposed to do.

"I've seen they're more interested in seeing somebody who's interested in stepping up to address the issues and give some commonsensical answers, not some big promise that he's going to cut taxes across the board and then give you no plan whatsoever to do it," Daggett added.

Sagging poll numbers, and the drumbeat on 101.5 FM, however, suggests that Republicans have penetrated with the message that a vote for Daggett is a vote for incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.

A Monmouth University/Gannett poll released this afternoon shows Gov. Jon Corzine with a two point lead over Republican Chris Christie – 43% to 41% -- which is within the poll’s margin of error.  Independent Christopher Daggett polls at 8%.

That’s a statistically insignificant change from a Monmouth poll release Sunday that showed Christie leading Corzine by 43% to 42%.

With Election Day looming, the race remains too close to call.  

“This race is still as close as it can be.  It’s possible that President Obama’s visit boosted the governor’s chances.  But it is also likely that some anti-Corzine voters are still unsure of casting their lot with Christie,” said Monmouth University Polling Institute Director Patrick Murray..  If the undecided vote breaks largely for the Republican, this race could be a squeaker.’

Corzine’s approval rating is mired in the same upside-down territory it has been in through most of the campaign, with 36% of respondents approving of his job performance and 54% disapproving.  But his personal favorability rating has improved, with 40% of voters seeing him favorably compared to 44% who view him unfavorable – narrowed from a 10 point upside-down gap in Monmouth’s poll from last week.

Lonegan ally Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R-Washington Twp.) on the stump for Christie at a Flemington rally also attended by Lonegan.

Putting the punctuation mark on his weekend of stumping for GOP candidate Chris Christie, movement conservative leader Steve Lonegan issued an email blast to his supporters this morning citing a quote from President Barack Obama's rallies for incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine.

"He said that Corzine was 'one of the best partners I have in the White House...we work together.  We know our work is far from over.'

"That's right," Lonegan added. "The radical national agenda of Barack Obama is hoping to get a boost from the election for Governor of New Jersey. You know what that means. Last week, the most left-wing Speaker in the history of Congress unpacked her plan to take over health care - and with it 18% of the American economy. Coupled with the Obama 'cap & tax' scheme, both these bills will destroy American competitiveness, drive-up costs, and amount to the largest collective tax increase ever."

For Immediate Release:Contact: Mario Drodz(973)-555-5555

Caputo Makes His Case For Another Term

Higher Taxes and More Politicos on the Take Are the Right Direction for New Jersey

Belleville-Assemblyman, Freeholder and Former Educational Bureaucrat Ralph Caputo made his case for another term in Trenton at his legislative office at the Sunrise Bagel Shop on Joralemon Street in his hometown where the voters unjustly rejected his Board of Education and Council candidates.

Getty Images Photo

President Barack Obama campaigns at the Prudential Center in Newark with Gov. Jon Corzine, Lt. Gov. candidate Loretta Weinberg, and Mayor Cory Booker.

NEWARK - Wading through the "I love you's" as he stands at the microphone on a raised platform in the middle of the Rock, President Barack Obama derides the opposition as an outfit selling a failed economic model.

"That didn't start under Jon's watch's or under my watch," Obama says of the national recession. "I wasn't sworn in yet. There's a little selective memory going on; a little amnesia about how we got into this mess.

"We're in this because of the same trickle-dwn economics the other guy's party has been peddling for years," he adds, praising incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine as a "leader who's put ordinary folks ahead of politics.".

In the 2008 presidential contest in New Jersey, 900,000 more voters than the usual 1.2 million that catapult a statewide candidate to victory turned out for Obama. 

"We will not lose this election if all of you are as committed as you were last year," Obama tells the roaring crowd.

At the end of the speech, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck) and Newark Mayor Cory Booker join Obama and Corzine onstage.

Cardinale (right) with Bergen County Republican Chairman Bob Yudin (center) and another Christie supporter

PARK RIDGE -- Waiting for Chris Christie to arrive at a diner in his district this morning, state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Demarest) said that he’s unsure of whether asset monetization will have a major affect on the gubernatorial race.

“It was a very bad move. It was a good shot for Christie to remind people of what Corzine actually is,” he said.   “It came so late.  And the major media haven’t played it very forcefully.”

Christie said that he believes Corzine walked back a comment to the New York Times that he wanted to revisit a “scaled back” version of the politically disasterous plan.  

“He’s almost denying his words,” said Cardinale, who said the apparent gaffe was “characteristic of Corzine."

Christie greets supporters in front of a diner in Park Ridge this morning

PARK RIDGE -- When Gov. Jon Corzine raised asset monetization from the dead in an interview written up last week by The New York Times, Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie did the obvious: he seized on it and beat the toll hike drum as loud as he could.

But largely overshadowed by Gov. Jon Corzine’s conjuring up the ghost of monetization past (or not, according to pushback from the Corzine campaign), was Christie’s apparent backing away from several key campaign planks.  

According to the story, Christie no longer said he would fully restore property tax rebates, a pledge he made in a GOP primary debate to roll back the sales tax, backed away from refusing to use “one shot” measures to balance the budget and deferred plans to cut income taxes, eliminate the business tax surcharge, permanently fund open space and restore higher education funding.

At his first campaign stop of the morning, at the Park Ridge Diner in in northern Bergen County, Christie argued that campaign rhetoric has not changed.

“What I’ve always said is we’re going to restore property tax rebates, we just have to determine at what level we’re going to restore them.  I’ve always said that, right from the beginning.  Secondly, I never talked about rolling back the sales tax – ever.  It’s never been a priority of mine, and when I’ve been asked about it directly I’ve said it’s a low priority.” he said.

NEW BRUNSWICK - Obama's on the ballot Tuesday.

That's what U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-Newark) told a group of black activists and Payne allies at a meeting of the African-American Political Alliance here aat the United Methodist Church on Saturday.

"This race has national significance," the veteran congressman told a room packed with 100 leaders and community activists. "The Republicans would love to say a Corzine loss is a referendum on Obama. If we lose Virginia, and then lose New Jersey, you can see the headline: 'Clean sweep by GOP: Obama on the decline.' They just can't wait to write that story.

"There's no way we're going to allow that to happen, right?"

"Right," the crowd called back.

Payne called up Corzine Deputy Campaign Manager James Gee.

"It's essential the - and they have all these fancy names for it - the base vote comes out," said Gee.