NEWARK -- Phil Murphy, a former banking executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany who has poured millions from his own fortune into the race for New Jersey governor and vows to reinvigorate the state's economy, handily fought off five rivals Tuesday night to win the Democratic nomination in the battle to succeed Chris Christie.

The Associated Press called the race for Murphy about an hour after the polls closed.

Murphy, a 59-year-old Middletown resident, will now face Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in the Nov. 7 general election. Guadagno, who has been Christie's second-in-charge for eight years, edged four opponents to win the Republican primary on Tuesday.

"People all across New Jersey are demanding change, and I am here to change things," Murphy said in his victory speech at a Newark hotel. "Four more years of Christie style policy won't change New Jersey unfair, unsuccessful, unsustainable course. But we will."

Murphy was heavily favored heading into the primary, bolstered by a heavy pocketbook, support from leading Democrats across the state, and a double-digit lead in the polls.

He beat a slate of challengers that included two veteran state lawmakers (state Assemblyman John Wisniewski and state Sen. Raymond Lesniak), a former U.S. Treasury official (Jim Johnson), and a pair of lesser-known candidates (former Teaneck firefighter Bill Brennan and Tenafly Council President Mark Zinna).

With 98 percent of the vote recorded Tuesday night, Murphy had 327,226 votes (48 percent), followed by Johnson with 107,905 (22 percent), Wisniewski 106,789 (2 percent), Lesniak 23,883 (5 percent), Brennan 11,010 (2 percent), and Zinna 5.075 (1 percent), according to the AP.

Political experts say Murphy is now the favorite to take over for Christie, a term-limited Republican in the waning months of his eighth and final year as governor. New Jersey is traditionally a blue-leaning state, and Republican Christie's approval ratings have reached historic lows in recent months.

New Jersey is one of only two states with a governor's election this year, along with Virginia. It's also the first major race since President Donald Trump took office in January, and experts say the race could be a barometer for how voters are reacting to Trump's administration.

Murphy has vowed to protect residents against the policies of Trump, a Republican who poll shows is also deeply unpopular in the state, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans nearly 2-to-1.

"Make no mistake: What Donald Trump does in Washington matters right here in New Jersey," he said Tuesday night. "We will stand up to this president with a steel backbone. We are better than Donald Trump and we are better than Chris Christie."

Murphy has never been elected to public office before, but he does have a background in politics. After 23 years at Wall Street investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, where he retired as an executive, Murphy was national finance chair of the Democratic National Committee and later served as U.S. ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2013 under then-President Barack Obama.

Murphy entered the race last May, six months earlier than most candidates. At the time, the Democratic primary was supposed to be a fierce three-way race between him, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney.

But Fulop unexpectedly announced in September that he wouldn't run, and Murphy began to consolidate support of Democratic county chairmen. Within weeks, Sweeney, seeing no path to victory, opted not to enter the race.

In the end, Murphy received the endorsement of the local party in all of the state's 21 counties.

He also spent more than $20 million in the primary -- nearly five times more than the other 10 major-party candidates combined. He loaned his campaign $16.4 million of his own money.

That drew unflattering comparisons to former Gov. Jon Corzine, another Democrat and former Goldman Sachs executive who spent millions of his own money to win the governorship in 2005 and then lost to Christie in his re-election bid four years later.

In the wake of the progressive and populist undertones of the 2016 presidential election, opponents repeatedly accused Murphy of buying his support and the nomination.

Wisniewski painted the race as being a battle between Wall Street and Main Street. Johnson said Murphy would continue New Jersey's insider-driven politics.

But Murphy dismissed those criticisms, saying he has campaigned tirelessly and used his money to help build the party in the state.

Murphy has targeted New Jersey's economy, saying he will help fix the state in the wake of Christie.

His biggest proposal is a state-run bank, that would give some tax money to community banks to give out loans to small businesses and students, with the profit returning to the state budget.

On Tuesday night, he also said he'll ask the "wealthiest and big corporations to pay their share." Murphy is in favor of raising the state income tax on wealthy residents.

He said he will close loopholes "than only benefit Wall Street money managers." He promised to legalize marijuana. And he vowed to fight any efforts by Trump's administration to "break up families" and deport immigrants.

In a surprise, Murphy has said he will now participate in the state's matching funds program, in which gubernatorial candidates receive $2 in public money for every $1 they raise.

That will limit Murphy to spending no more than $13.8 million in the general election. But it will not prohibit outside groups from spending to support him.

Johnson, a former federal prosecutor who ran a progressive campaign and surprised experts by becoming a strong factor in the race, has been rumored to be a possible candidate for future elections, possibly for the U.S. House or Senate next year.

Wisniewski, most famous to being the lawmaker who led the legislative investigation into the George Washington Bridge scandal, will now have to leave his seat in the Assembly after 21 years. State law prohibits candidates from seeking two offices in the same year.

Lesniak, a 71-year-old who has served the second-longest tenure of any lawmakers in New Jersey history, will end a four-decade career in the state Legislature in January.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Avalon Zoppo contributed to this report.

Matt Arco ay be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook.

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