Corzine Within a Point of Christie in New Jersey Race

And then there's what voters think about the weight issue. But more on that later.

Christie had led by nine points in this poll a month ago, and the erosion of his lead has also been noted in other polls in recent weeks. Eighty-three percent of voters said they were solidly committed to their choice at this point, while 17 percent said they could change their minds. (See my colleague Walter Shapiro's piece on the New Jersey contest.)

As polling analyst Mark Blumenthal wrote on Pollster.com last week, Daggett appears to be the wild card in the race. Christie is losing some Republicans and independents to Daggett, with Christie's share of Republican votes falling from 79 percent to 73 percent, while Daggett's share has risen from 7 percent to 13 percent. Among independents, Daggett increased his share from 16 percent to 19 percent while Christie dropped from 48 percent to 42 percent. Corzine's standing among independents remained about the same.

Pollster.com's Blumenthal said in his analysis that "Corzine's prospects depend on Daggett retaining his current support."

Corzine is viewed unfavorably by 55 percent of voters and favorably by 37 percent, with 8 percent undecided. Christie is viewed unfavorably by 44 percent and favorably by 42 percent with 14 percent undecided. Daggett is viewed favorably by 30 percent and unfavorably by 24 percent, but 46 percent don't know enough about him to express an opinion.

Voters were also asked about the not-so-subtle jab at Christie's weight in one of Corzine's television ads. The narrator tells voters that after Christie committed traffic infractions, he "threw his weight around as U.S. attorney and got off easy." That's followed by a shot of the portly Christie getting out of his SUV in slow motion.

Forty-seven percent of voters said that they did not believe Corzine was trying to make Christie's weight an issue while 35 percent said he was, with 18 percent undecided. Eighty-one percent said, in any case, it was not a legitimate issue and 78 percent said it would make no difference in their vote. Eleven percent said Christie's weight was a legitimate issue.

Here's the ad: