Chris Daggett

Independent candidate Chris Daggett just formally conceded.

"Whoever wins tonight deserves our full and total support," he says on a big screen television screen. "This has been a tough campaign and no one knows that better than my family."

Daggett paid tribute to his wife, Bea, for enduring him on the campaign trail and helping his efforts.

"I'll never be able to thank me adequately, and I know she'll never let me forget it," said the independent, who also thanked his daughters.

If you don't vote, you are leaving the choice of who becomes our next governor to someone else.

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.

WEST ORANGE - Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) did a robocall over the weekend for Gov. Jon Corzine, targeting suburban Essex County voters and reminding them about the governor's cap on property taxes, Codey told PolitickerNJ.com.

"Democrats will vote in the suburbs for Jon Corzine," said Codey. "The critical question will be whether he holds independent women, who flocked to him after the campaign hit the mammogram issue. One thing I find interesting is that (independent candidate Chris) Daggett has dropped out of the sky."

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.

With one day left in the campaign, it is clear that Chris Christie has major momentum.  The election outcome will be determined by turnout.  In this regard, the key question will be:  How effective is each candidate’s GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote)?

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."

A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll released today shows Republican Christopher Christie leading Gov. Jon Corzine 41%-39% -- a statistical dead heat - with independent Christopher Daggett at 14%.

"At this point, anyone who says their vote doesn't count is mistaken," said FDU political scientist and poll director Peter Woolley.  . "And no one knows that better than the campaigns."

The horse race numbers for Corzine and Christie are exactly the same as in an FDU poll released on October 6. 

When Daggett's name is read to the respondents, he gets14% support and actually draws more from Corzine than Christie, giving Christie a two point lead over Corzine, 41% to 39%.  When an obscure independent candidate's name is read - in this case Gary Steele - he gets 3% of the vote and Corzine leads Christie by a more significant 46% to 41%. 

In a two way race, Corzine leads 44%-43%, with 6% volunteering Daggett's name.

Corzine's approval rating remains upside down, at 37% approve to 52% disapprove - virtually unchanged since the summer (his favorables are 37% favorable to 54% unfavorable).  But Christie's favorables are also upside down, with 41% of respondents viewing him favorably and 44% viewing him unfavorably. 

Daggett is the only major candidate whose favorables are right side up, and only 18% of voters have not heard of him - down from 50% earlier this month and 67% in September.  He is seen favorably by 28% of voters and unfavorably by 23%.