New Jersey Governor's Race Still a Dead Heat

Monmouth says the "key dynamic" in the race now is that instead of Daggett fading as independents often do as election day nears, the third-party candidate is drawing voters who had backed Corzine and Christie. Christie had 49 percent of the independent vote three weeks ago before the first campaign debate and now has 45 percent. Corzine had 28 percent and now has 21 percent.

While Christie's support among fellow Republicans remains high, 8 percent of GOP voters say they are now in Daggett's camp compared to 3 percent earlier this month. Eleven percent of Democrats support Daggett, up slightly from 8 percent earlier this month.

Monmouth's Patrick Murray also said that "Democrats who flirted with Chris Christie earlier in the year have come back into the fold. It also looks like some GOP voters may have become disenchanted with their white knight. That's not a good sign for the Republican at this late stage of the game."

If Christie had a "white knight" image, it was not helped by a story in the New York Times today about whether a former aide in Christie's office, when he was U.S. attorney, may have helped his campaign for governor in "possibly improper ways." The former aide, Michele Brown, to whom Christie had given a $46,000 loan, may have interceded when Corzine's campaign requested public records about Christie under the Freedom of Information Act. Brown called any allegations of wrongdoing "outrageous and inaccurate."

Corzine is still seen unfavorably by a big margin of voters: 51 percent give him negative marks compared to 37 percent who see him positively. That's up from 49 percent to 40 percent earlier this month. Christie is seen unfavorably by 41 percent and favorably by 40 percent with 19 percent undecided. Earlier this month, he was seen favorably by 41 percent to 39 percent with 19 percent undecided. Back in what Monmouth's Murray called Christie's "white knight" days, in September, Christie was seen favorably by 48 percent and unfavorably by 30 percent. But there have been a lot of Corzine television ads since then.