Steve Lonegan

Assemblyman Richard Merkt (R-Mendham), who came in a distant third in last night’s Republican gubernatorial primary, said that his candidacy was a fulfilling experience.

“Running for Governor was an outstanding experience and one on which I will always look back with pride,” he wrote in a letter today.  

Merkt got 3% of the vote against former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie’s 55% and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan’s 42% -- a total of about 9,000 votes.  He is not running for reelection to the Assembly, where his term ends in January. 

Congratulations to Chris Christie on easily winning the GOP gubernatorial nomination, Mike Doherty for his tenacious effort to win the Senate nomination in the 23rd District and to Mike Carroll who easily won renomination for his Assembly seat.

Steve Lonegan's flawed tax proposal cost him votes, and possibly the nomination.  If Steve did not have any tax hikes in his plan, he could have made a better case that both tax cuts and cutting state spending would revive New Jersey's economy. 

Time to Get on the Same Page.

Christie accepts the party's nomination.

HANOVER -  Possessed of attitude as a New Jersey native, in his words, Chris Christie accepts his party's nomination tonight, vowing to unleash that unbridled brand of New Jersey into the Statehouse when he beats Gov. Jon Corzine in November.

"I think he's a good man and I think he's well-intentioned but he's simply wrong for this job," says an energized Christie, who later calls Corzine simply a bad governor. "He's made choices that have plunged New Jersey deeper into debt" and driven jobs outside the state.

Corzine will retaliate with a big injection of money.

"He's going to call me a Republican, well, I think that cat's out of the bag, next, he's going to try to manufacture scandal where none exists - but remember, this is the same Jon Corzine who endorsed me for U.S. Attorney and endorsed everything I did over the last seven years," he says.

GOP State Party Chairman Tom Wilson

HANOVER - Michael Aron's face appears on a jumbo-sized TV screen and the crowd goes berserk again as Christie signs shake in frenzied fashion.

Still no results, but plenty of energy as Bruce Springsteen's voice guts out yet another local classic.

State Republican Chairman Tom Wilson hops off a stage after giving a television interview.

"If anyone made a radical move to the right in this primary, it was Steve Lonegan," said Wilson. "Consider Chris's endorsements from Steve Forbes and Brett Schundler. Steve was out there calling them liberals. Now, most people would consider them conservatives - clearly. So if Steve is calling them liberals, where does that put him?"

EAST BRUNSWICK -- With totals showing Chris Christie maintaining a lead over Steve Lonegan, the crowd is sober and quiet at Lonegan’s rally.  

Lonegan supporter Michael Illions, a conservative activist and blogger, acknowledged that he felt “a little bit” somber about the results so far.

“We hoped to have a better foundation to build on this early,” he said. “Of course you don’t know what counties are counted yet.” 

Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen)

His entrenchment in the Christie camp made state Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Bergen) a target of the renegade GOP gubernatorial campaign of Steve Lonegan.

"Some of his people are..." the veteran lawmaker searched for the right word to charecterize the followers of the movement conservative, "...tough."  

EAST BRUNSWICK -- Steve Lonegan Supporters are beginning to assemble at the Hilton East Brunswick’s ballroom, with a small contingent holding Lonegan signs and chanting his name.

The live band just began performing, but so far the crowd is sparse. Two giant project screens show NJN's coverage of Gov. Corzine's campaign kickoff rally with Vice President Joe Biden.

A victory for Lonegan over Chris Christie in the Republican gubernatorial primary would be seen by the state’s political establishment as an upset of epic proportions.  

Lonegan strategist Rick Shaftan, however, brushed off a question about whether a victory for his candidate tonight would be the biggest upset of his career. 

Lonegan with supporters in Hackensack today.

HACKENSACK - The U.S.S. Ling sits in dry dock on the Hackensack River, which divides Bogota from Hackensack and with a few hours to go in this GOP gubernatorial primary, Steve Lonegan crosses the river from his hometown into the latter and rallies with supporters at the Heritage Diner.

"Turnout's low, but you never know," says Lonegan, standing amid his backers in the dining room. "People are looking seriously at electability. It's in the hands of the election gods, but I feel confident. We have a phenomenal grassroots organization.

"This race comes down to who's conservative versus who's moderate, who's plagued by scandals versus who's scandal free," says Lonegan, contrasting himself with former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who holds a double-digit lead over the former mayor of Bogota, according to most polls.

"We're all about winning," Lonegan insists. "I can't wait to go head-to-head with Jon Corzine in debates. I don't know how he defends himself."

The movement conservative's seal-the-deal performance on 101.5 FM featured what at least one of the hosts heard as a Lonegan gaffe when the candidate referred to a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University poll showing him trailing as "retarded."

Lonegan has no regrets about his choice of words.

"I didn't call a person retarded," he says. "I'm not into the speech police thing, but I was using the word as in 'behind.' Look, I'd like to believe I'm considerate of people."

If he had anything to do over, he says he wishes he would have been able to raise more money.

Christie voting this morning.

MENDHAM TWP. - Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie voted here a short time ago at the Brookside Community Club in his hometown.

"Everybody in my family is looking forward to a party," Christie told reporters after emerging from the voting booth with his two sons in the old converted church in this bucolic Morris County town.

"Steve Lonegan has been a very formidable opponent and he's spent a lot of money," Christie added of his chief primary rival. "This is no walk over for anybody. This has been a tough campaign."

Most polls show Christie leading Lonegan by double digits.

"Polls matter to me, and they have given me confidence," said the candidate, who with his wife Mary Pat and the couple's four children, arrived at Brookside shortly after 6:30 a.m.