It’s election day in New Jersey, and though the sun is shining – not much is clear.  The polls put the match up between incumbent Democrat Governor Jon Corzine and his Republican challenger Chris Christie at a dead heat.  That’s a significant shift from this time last year when President Obama carried the Garden State by a 15 point margin.  Obama has invested time in this race, trying to buoy Corzine going into the homestretch, but any boost has yet to surface in the polls.  After voting today, Corzine sounded optimistic.  “I feel like we’ve got a lot of momentum coming from behind,” Corzine continued, “the only poll that counts is the one that’s going on right now between 6 and 8.”

The Christie camp remains upbeat as well, encouraged by what it sees as a swing away from Corzine and toward Christie in recent polling data.  The candidate is confidently predicting victory.  “I believe the Republican party will be much stronger tomorrow because we will have a Republican governor of New Jersey.”  To make that a reality Christie will have to do what no Republican has been able to accomplish since 1993 – unseating an incumbent Democratic governor.  Christie says he welcomes the challenge, and sees a win tonight as just a beginning.   Christie commented today, “It’s also going to place a great deal of responsibility on our party then to govern.”

Still in the mix, though not as a top contender, is Independent Chris Daggett.  What happens with his supporters today could swing the race in one direction or another.  “Unaffiliateds” make up the state’s largest pool of registered voters at 2.4 million.  It’s all the unknowns that will make the New Jersey gubernatorial race such an interesting race to watch when the polls close at 8:00pm EST.