NEWARK -- The first televised debate between the two major-party candidates running to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor was an often bitter affair Tuesday night, as Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican Kim Guadagno clashed over property taxes, pensions, gun control, immigration, and marijuana.

The one-hour debate at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark came exactly four weeks before Election Day on Nov. 7 -- and was a chance to inject some life into a race that has so far drawn modest attention as Christie's eight years come to a close. A recent poll showed nearly half of the state's likely voters still don't know much about either Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, or Guadagno, Christie's lieutenant governor.

Neither candidate appeared to suffer a major wound -- or inflict a major blow -- Tuesday, but both hammered home their key attacks.

Murphy, who has been leading by double digits in all polls, tried to paint Guadagno as the second coming of the unpopular Christie and himself as the one who will rejuvenate a state economy that has been "ravaged" by the current administration.

Guadagno, meanwhile, portrayed Murphy as a millionaire with no real plan to slash property taxes and who will instead will raise other taxes -- while she vowed to cut property taxes.

"The inconvenient truth for Phil is: Chris Christie's not on the ballot," Guadagno said. "I am."

Murphy's response: "Chris Christie's record is your record, lieutenant governor. You've been beside him every step of the way."

Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs banking executive, once again refused to say whether he would sign a bill extending a 2 percent cap on salary increased that police and fire unions can win in arbitration -- a law Republicans say has kept the state's notoriously high property taxes in check.

Murphy has repeatedly said he is waiting for a task force report to come out in December before making his decision. He said he was not swayed by a report released by rogue members of the committee last month that said the cap saved New Jersey property taxpayers nearly $3 billion and should be renewed.

"We want to make that decision based on facts," Murphy said Tuesday. "We want to make sure we have not just one side of the argument."

Guadagno said she would extend the cap and chastised Murphy for staying silent.

"The facts are in," she said. "People listening tonight have a right to know where you stand."

"The people of New Jersey are taxed enough," Guadagno added. "We need to provide them with property-tax relief."

Guadagno pushed her "circuit-breaker" plan to save taxpayers an average of $800.

"That may not be a lot of money to Phil Murphy, Goldman Sachs millionaire," she said. "That's a lot of money to a lot of people. They need that help, and they need that help now."

Murhy countered: "If it's such a good idea, where have you been?"

Murphy also remained committed to his pledge to fully fund the state's public worker pension system, which is the most underfunded in the nation, though he did not detail how he would pay for it.

"We have to get back to being a state folks trust again," he said. "We will fully fund our pension obligations. We'll get there as fast as we can."

Guadagno said that's unrealistic -- and reminiscent of the current governor.

"Quite frankly, Phil, that sounds like Chris Christie's plan," she said.

Guadagno said she would honor the state's commitment to the 800,000 employees already in the pension system but would talk about a new plan for new hires.

Murphy also repeatedly vilified President Donald Trump, a Republican, calling him "the most wrongheaded president in the history of our country."

He vowed to protect the so-called "dreamers" -- the undocumented immigrants who came to America as children.

"This is a moral test black and white," he said. "If need be, we will be a sanctuary not just city but state. This is America."

Guadagno said she would lobby Congress to tackle the issue.

Murphy vowed to sign all the gun control laws vetoed by Christie. Guadagno said she would not push for new gun laws but would call for stricter penalties and better mental health background checks.

"In the case of the Nevada shooting, I would recommend the death penalty," she said.

On marijuana, Murphy wants to legalize and tax pot. But Guadagno said she is "wholly opposed" to doing so. Instead, she said, the state should decriminalize it and expand the medical marijuana program.

As for a $15-an-hour minimum wage? Murphy said he would phase it in over a few years.

Guadagno said she's against it because the move would "take away the very jobs they're intended to protect," closing grocery stores, bodegas, and restaurants and causing senior citizens to pay more for food.

In another heated moment, Murphy declared he's never received any political donations from embattled movie mogul and top Democratic donor Harvey Weinstein, who in recent weeks has been accused of sexual harassment and abuse by multiple women stretching back decades.

"I didn't ask for and I didn't get one dime from this guy," Murphy said, adding that Democrats who did receive money should donate it to women's charities. "What he's done is completely outrageous and heinous."

Murphy did confirm that he was scheduled to appear at a political event co-hosted by Weinstein later this month and that his campaign canceled it "when we read what's happened."

Still, Guadagno called Murphy a "coward" for not condemning Weinstein until her campaign brought up the issue earlier in the day.

And she noted that Murphy was finance chair of the Democratic National Finance Committee from 2006 to 2009 -- a period when the group received $28,500 from Weinstein, according to federal campaign filings.

"Shame on him for not coming forward earlier and helping those poor women," Guadagno said.

She did not provide evidence that Murphy personally solicited those donations.

"I literally don't know what she's talking about," Murphy replied.

The second debate is next Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at William Paterson University in Wayne.

Watch Tuesday's entire debate here:

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.