Chris Christie walked to victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary in New Jersey on Tuesday, fending off challenges from two more conservative rivals and setting up a long-anticipated November matchup with incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine.
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KYW's David Madden reports from Christie headquarters in Whippany, NJ that a low voter turnout worked in favor of the former federal prosecutor.
Christie’s lead remained in double digits throughout the night, and supporters weren't worried by the low turnout, which in the last two gubernatorial primaries worked against the moderate party organization.
Not this time.
Christie, in accepting the nomination, acknowledged the race against Corzine will be down and dirty:
"Over the past decade, he has spent an unprecedented amount of money on personal, negative smear ads. He did it before. He did it in this primary. But here’s a message for you, Governor Corzine. I'm still standing here."
He called on Lonegan’s supporters to join with his own, in an effort to -- in Christie’s words -- "take New Jersey back."
Steve Lonegan conceded the race just before 10pm:
"The message unfortunately was not clear enough, and I take responsibility for that. The voters have spoken."
KYW's Mike DeNardo reports from Lonegan headquarters in East Brunswick, NJ that the pre-election polls held up, and conservative candidate Lonegan went down in defeat.
Lonegan admitted that maybe he didn't articulate his message of conservative politics clearly enough.
But he said his run for governor helped to reshape the Republican party in New Jersey:
"We defined the message in this campaign. Mr. Christie ran on our issues. We got him to run on our issues. And if we succeed in making the Republican party stand up for the issues we believe in -- the Republican Party for limited government, lower taxes, the pro-life party, the party of the future."
Lonegan pledged to help Christie in their common goal -- defeating Corzine in November.
Governor Jon Corzine, who glided to victory in the Democratic primary after facing only token competition, officially kicked off 
his re-election campaign in West Orange (right).
Vice President Joe Biden was on hand:
"Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to Jon Corzine's re-election. Period. End of sentence. We need Jon Corzine at the helm."
Corzine accepted his party's nomination for a second term:
"Being governor of New Jersey is the highest honor of my life. Serving the people is my highest calling."
Corzine, 62, could face a tough re-election bid. A series of polls has shown him trailing Christie, a former US attorney under former President George W. Bush.
Christie was enthusiastically backed by the state's Republican establishment, receiving virtually every county GOP endorsement. He is widely viewed within the party as the only candidate with a shot at recapturing the governor's office, which no Republican has done since 1997.
Incumbent Lorenzo Langford has won the Democratic mayoral primary in Atlantic City.
The Associated Press called the race based on an analysis of partial election results.
With most of the precincts reporting Tuesday, Langford had about 62 percent of the vote, easily topping two challengers.
Final vote totals won't be known until later this week because hundreds of absentee ballots still have to be counted.
Langford, a former casino dealer, will now take on Republican Jesse Kurtz, who ran unopposed.
The community is looking for stability; it has seen four chief executives in the last 18 months.
Langford served as mayor from 2002 to 2005, but lost his re-election bid in 2005. He was elected again in 2008 after the man who defeated him in 2005 resigned in a scandal over his veterans benefits.
Democratic state senator Dana Redd has won the Camden mayoral primary.
The Associated Press called the race based on an analysis of partial election results.
With 93 percent of the precincts reporting, Redd led Elton Custis and Eulisis Delgado by a wide margin.
Since Camden is heavily Democratic, winning that party's primary historically has been tantamount to winning the general election in November. However, several people have pledged to run as independents this year.
The winner in November will succeed 84-year-old Gwendolyn Faison, the city's first woman mayor. Faison did not seek re-election.
Stay with KYW Newsradio 1060 for complete coverage of the New Jersey primary.
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