Christopher Christie

If support for independent candidate Christopher Daggett is soft, as indicated by this morning's Quinnipiac University poll, then the race for second choice among those who say they are likely to vote for Daggett remains important.  Republican Christopher Christie leads Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine 40%-33% among Daggett supporters who list a second choice.  Nearly six out of ten Daggett (39%) voters say they might change their mind before Election Day.

Attorney General Anne Milgram had already decided she would leave her post when Gov. Jon Corzine lost his bid for re-election.  She has been seeking jobs in Washington, D.C., where she lived when she worked on Corzine's U.S. Senate staff.  Her spokesman, David Wald, told PolitickerNJ.com yesterday denied reports that Milgram was headed to the U.S. Department of Justice to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

It will be interesting to see what the new Republican governor does with Wald, who was dominate political reporter in the state from 1978 to 2000, when he left the Star-Ledger to join Corzine's campaign staff when he ran for the Senate.  Wald worked in Corzine's Senate office before taking the Attorney General's communications director after Corzine named Zulima Farber to the post after the 2005 election.

Gov.-elect Christopher Christie will also have to decide what to do with other former reporters who wound up getting jobs with Democratic governors in recent years.  Deborah Howlett, who was covering Corzine for the Star-Ledger when he hired her as Communications Director, is sure to be a goner.  Corzine demoted Howlett a few months ago, although she remains on the front office payroll.

Gov.-elect Christopher Christie told the Star-Ledger that he would not rule out appointments for Ralph Marra and Michele Brown, two of his top colleagues at the U.S. Attorney's office. 

"People who have real problems won't be in the administration. People who have problems that are contrived for attempted political advantage won't be hurt by that.  That doesn't necessary mean they're going to be in, but if they're not in, that won't be the reason why they're not," Christie told the Star-Ledger's Claire Heininger. 

Christie could also be talking about former Morris County Freeholder John Inglesino, who stepped out of the spotlight after he became a campaign issue during the primary election.

Marra has been mentioned, although not by Christie or any of his top advisors, as a possible candidate for Attorney General.  Brown had been viewed as a likely candidate for a top administration post until Democrats made her into a campaign issue.

Republicans across the state are in awe of George Gilmore, the Ocean County GOP leader who delivered a 70,000 plurality for Gov.-elect Christopher Christie on Tuesday.  That's bad news for U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), who is preparing to seek re-election next year to a second term in Congress.  Republicans held the third district seat from 1884 until 2008, but have struggled to find a candidate and are way behind in fundraising - Adler has $1 million in his campaign account and has raised more money than any other freshman.  But now Christie and Gilmore are positioned to raise some serious money, and there's a fairly good chance the GOP will just left Gilmore pick a candidate.

Despite his public flirtation with Republican Christopher Christie, State Sen. Brian Stack appears to have delivered for the gubernatorial candidate of his party, Democrat Jon Corzine.  In Union City, where Stack is mayor and heads the local Democratic organization, Corzine beat Christie 8,300 to 2,191 (77%-20%).  Four years ago, Corzine beat Republican Douglas Forrester 9,385 to 2,459 (79%-20%).  While turnout was down, Christie actually got less votes in Union City than Forrester did.  Some of the credit for this goes to U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who leaned on Stack to stay entirely within the Democratic fold.

Gov.-elect Christopher Christie says he's not ready to immediately battle the Democratic Legislature during their lame duck session, but he is prepared to speak out if they take action that he disagrees with.

"Am I willing to fight? Of course I am. You've watched me for eight years now. I'm not a Wallflower," Christie said at a press conference at the Robert Treat Academy, a Newark charter school run by Stephen Adubato, Sr.

Christie said he'll look at the Legislature with "an optimistic point of view."

"I think the members of the Legislature understand that people have voted for change," Christie said.  The voters voted for it.  So for now, we'll have to engage in the compromise that will occur always when people have differing views."

Gov.-elect Christopher Christie today named former Attorney General David Samson as chairman of his transiton team, and said that Jeffrey Chiesa, who served as his counsel in the U.S. Attorney's office, will serve as Executive Director of the transition office.

Getty Images Photo

With 99% of the votes reported, Republican Christopher Christie’s lead in the race for governor is now at 99,730 a 49%-45% margin over the incumbent Democrat, Jon Corzine.  Independent Christopher Daggett finished at 6%, with 132,919 votes.  These numbers will change as unreported precincts and absentee ballots are added to the tallies.

Republicans picked up one seat in the State Assembly: in district 4, Domenick DiCicco won an open seat that the Democrats have held since 2003.  The GOP came close to ousting incumbents in districts 3 and 22.

Statewide, Republicans picked up eight Freeholder seats, including control in Monmouth County.  And the GOP won three hotly contested races for County Clerk, including a pickup in Passaic.  A Republican victory in the Parsippany mayoral race was tempered by a loss of a GOP mayor in Gloucester Township.

Watch for New Jersey Democrats to consider legislation that will change the way the state fills vacancies in the United States Senate.  Now that Democrats have lost the governorship, some party leaders are concerned that Republican Gov.-elect Christopher Christie would appoint a U.S. Senator if Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who turns 86 in January, leaves office without finishing the final four years of his term.  Some Democratic leaders have already discussed a plan to take the appointment away from the governor and forcing a quick special election.  Jon Corzine could sign that bill before he leaves office in January.

Five years ago, when there was a good chance that Democrat John Kerry might get elected president, the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts Legislature changed the law so that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney could not appoint Kerry's successor.

Governor-elect Christopher J. Christie.  How sweet it is for the thousands of volunteers who worked since February to support this great man for NJ Governor.  I am proud to be one of them.

Congratulations go to him and to his wife Mary Pat and terrific family.  Also congratulations to Lt Governor-elect Kim Guadagno on her election.  Her stellar performance on the campaign trail was a major asset to the Governor-elect, and proved his good judgment in choosing her.

When Gov-elect Christie was named US Attorney, most observers ignored his call that public corruption would be a major priority of his office.  This is Jersey, after all, where pay-to-play and apparently other seedier behaviors were standard operating procedure in many communities.