By Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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New Jersey voters will head to their polling places Tuesday to pick their first new governor in eight years — the person who will succeed Chris Christie as the Garden State's chief executive.

The result will bring an end to a five-month race that has been colored by criticism of Christie, questions about President Donald Trump, loads of money, arguments over the state's notoriously high property taxes, and controversial comments about immigration.

Here's our guide to everything you need to know before heading into the voting booth.

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THE MAJOR-PARTY CANDIDATES

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Photo by Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Kim Guadagno, Republican

Background: Guadagno has spent the last eight years as Christie's lieutenant governor. She was elected the first lieutenant governor in state history. She is also a former Monmouth County sheriff, Monmouth Beach commissioner, and federal prosecutor.

Age: 58

Residence: Monmouth Beach

Read our profile of Guadagno

Where she stands on key issues

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Photo by Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Phil Murphy, Democrat

Background: Murphy is a multi-millionaire former executive at Wall Street investment banking firm Goldman Sachs. Politically, he has never held elected office, but he served as finance chair of the Democratic National Committee and then as a U.S. ambassador to Germany under then-President Barack Obama.

Age: 60

Residence: Middletown

Read our profile of Murphy

Where he stands on key issues

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THE INDEPENDENTS

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Gina Genovese, independent

Background: Genovese is a former professional tennis player and has owned and operated an indoor tennis club in Berkeley Heights for the last 34 years. Politically, Genovese was a township committeewoman in Long Hill in Morris County and served as mayor from 2005 to 2007. She was New Jersey's first openly gay mayor.

Age: 58

Residence: Long Hill

Watch Genovese's answers in our town hall

Where she stands on key issues

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Seth Kaper-Dale, Green Party

Background: Kaper-Dale is pastor of the Reformed Church of Highland Park in Middlesex County. He is also a community developer and activist and a founder of four non-profits. He has never held elected office.

Age: 42

Residence: Highland Park

Watch Kaper-Dale's answers in our town hall

Where he stands on key issues

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Matthew Riccardi, Constitution Party

Background: Riccardi, who served in the Marines, runs a legal services business started by his father. He has never held elected office.

Age: 30

Residence: Tinton Falls

Watch Riccardi's answers in our town hall

Where he stands on key issues

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Peter Rohrman, Libertarian

Most known for: Rohrman, who served in the Marines, is a network engineer for an internet-service provider. He has never held elected office, losing two campaigns for Bergen County freeholder in 2015 and 2016.

Age: 47

Residence: Ramsey

Watch Rohrman's answers in our town hall

Where he stands on key issues

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Vincent Ross, independent

Age: 51

Residence: Edison

Where he stands on key issues

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Photo by Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

WHY ISN'T CHRISTIE RUNNING?

Christie, who has been governor since 2010, is prohibited by law from seeking a third consecutive term.

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WHY THE RACE IS IMPORTANT

First, it's one of only two governor's races in the nation this year, along with Virginia. And it comes only a year after Trump's election. Many see New Jersey and Virginia as early indicators of how America is responding to Trump — and how next year's midterm congressional elections may shake up.

Second, the New Jersey Constitution gives the Garden State governor more power than any other in the country. In other words, the governor here has more direct impact on your life than the president does.

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HISTORICAL IMPLICATIONS

Guadagno is vying to become only the second woman in New Jersey history to become governor, after Christie Whitman. If she's elected, it would also mark the first time since the 1960s that one party held the governor's office for three straight terms.

Murphy would become the first Democrat to be governor since Corzine lost re-election to Christie in 2009.

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THE RACE IN A NUTSHELL

Christie isn't the ballot, but his name looms over the race. Murphy vows to be the anthesis of the Republican governor, whose historically low approval ratings are in the mid-teens, and argues that electing Guadagno is akin to selecting a third term of Christie's administration. Guadagno has repeatedly distanced herself from Christie, stressing she's running on her record and platform, not his.

Murphy also promises to fight back against Trump, who is deeply unpopular in the heavily Democratic state. Guadagno has largely avoided speaking about the president.

Meanwhile, Guadagno paints Murphy as a rich liberal with a Wall Street background who is out of touch with New Jersey's values and will raise taxes in an already overtaxed state. She's compared him to former Gov. Jon Corzine, another Democrat who was a former Goldman Sachs exec.

By contrast, Guadagno promises to cut property taxes for the middle class. Murphy says his tax hike would increase taxes on the wealthy, corporations, and those who buy legalized marijuana to help pay for education, pensions, and transportation — but it would spare the middle class. He also wants to institute a state-owned bank to help spur the economy.

Both candidates have also shown a tendency to veer to the left and right, respectively, of the moderate wings of their party — especially on immigration. Murphy said during a debate that he would be open to making New Jersey a "sanctuary state" to protect some undocumented immigrants from deportation. Guadagno pounced on that, suggesting Murphy would make the state less safe.

Whoever wins, the state of marijuana will change in New Jersey. Murphy wants to legalize pot. Guadagno wants to decriminalize it.

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WHAT THE POLLS SHOW

Murphy has led Guadagno by double digits in every major public opinion poll. But his lead shrunk over the last few months. He was ahead by 27 percentage points in July but is now up by 12 in the most recent survey.

But polls throughout the race have also shown more than half voters don't know much about either Murphy or Guadagno.

None of the third-party or independent candidates have polled above 5 percent. No independent contender has ever been elected governor in New Jersey history.

New Jerseyans often pinball between electing Democrats and Republicans for governor — even though registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans nearly 2 to 1. But political experts say Christie's unpopularity has given Murphy a boost over Guadagno.

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WHAT ABOUT TURNOUT?

The most recent Monmouth University poll estimates that 38 percent of the state's registered voters will cast ballots. That's lower than the 40 percent who came out for the last governor's race, when Christie was re-elected in a landslide in 2013. That was a record low for a Garden State governor's race.

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WHERE THEY STAND ON THE ISSUES

As always, property taxes are the biggest issue in the race, followed closely by whether the next governor can cut away at the state's tremendous public-worker pension debt. And this time, marijuana is a major focus. No matter who is elected, the state appears likely to either legalize or decriminalize recreational pot.

Here's where each candidate stands on the key issues. And here's a closer look at where they stand on property taxes, pensions, marijuana, education, transportation, and guns.

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HOW THE CANDIDATES GOT HERE

Guadagno easily beat four opponents in the June primary for the Republican nomination: state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Nutley Commissioner Steven Rogers, small business owner Joseph Rullo, and aerospace engineer Hirsh Singh.

Murphy easily defeated five opponents for in the Democratic primary: former Teaneck firefighter Bill Brennan, former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, and Tenafly Council President Mark Zinna.

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THEIR RUNNING MATES

Guadagno's pick for lieutenant governor is Carlos Rendo (right), the mayor of Woodcliff Lake and the only Republican Hispanic mayor in the state.

Murphy's choice is Sheila Oliver (left), a veteran member of the state Assembly who was the first black Assembly speaker in state history.

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HOW MUCH MONEY THEY'VE RAISED

Murphy's money was a major focus of the primaries. He spent $21.7 million — or 64 percent of all the money shelled out by all of the contenders from both parties — in the primary. Of that money, $16.3 million was his own. By comparison, Guadagno spent $3.4 million in the GOP primary.

In the general election, both Murphy and Guadagno are participating in the state's public matching funds program, in which gubernatorial candidate receive $2 in public money for every $1 they raise on their own. That also limits their spending to $9.3 million.

Still, Murphy has out-raised and out-spent Guadagno by a 3-to-1 margin. He raised $13.3 million, spent $9.8 million, and had $3.5 million in reserve as of Oct. 24. Guadagno raised $3.9 million, spent $3.3 million, and had a reserve of $632,169.

Of the third-party or independent candidates, Kaper-Dale has raised the most ($96,316), followed by Genovese ($52,046), and Rohrman ($7,765).

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OUTSIDE SPENDING

Independent special interest groups have spent more than $13 million on the race, including more than $8 million in the final few weeks, according to figures from New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

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WHERE THEY'RE FROM

Neither Murphy nor Guadagno are from New Jersey. Guadagno hails from Iowa but moved around a lot because of her father's salesman job. She and her husband relocated to New Jersey in 1991. Murphy comes from the Boston area and moved with his family here in 2000.

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WHERE THEY LIVE

Guadagno and Murphy are both Shore residents, living about 25 minutes from each other in Monmouth County.

Guadagno and her husband own a $2.3 million home in Monmouth Beach, on which they pay about $30,000 annually in property taxes, according to a recent report by the Asbury Park Press.

Murphy and his wife own a $9.6 million mansion in Middletown, on which they pay about $200,000 in annual property taxes, according to a recent report by the Asbury Park Press.

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THEIR FAMILIES

Guadagno's husband is Michael Guadagno, a recently retired state Superior Court judge. They have three children: Kevin, 24; Michael, 21; and Anderson, 17.

Murphy's wife is Tammy Murphy, a philanthropist. They have four children: Josh, 19; Emma, 17; Charlie, 15; and Sam, 13.

Read our dual profile on the candidates' spouses

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THEIR EDUCATION

Guadagno received political science degree from Ursinus College in Pennsylvania in 1980 and a law degree from American University in Washington, D.C., in 1983.

Murphy received an economics degree from Harvard University in 1979 and a masters of business administration from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1983.

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WHAT THEIR TAX RETURNS SHOW

Murphy and his wife, Tammy Murphy, made made $4.6 million and paid about $1.5 million in taxes last year, according to their 2016 tax returns. They made a combined $35.8 million from 2010 to 2016.

Guadagno and her husband, retired Judge Michael Guadagno, made just over $300,000 last year, according to their 2016 returns.

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THEIR MAJOR ENDORSEMENTS

Murphy has the backing of dozens of labor unions, including the New Jersey Education Association and the Communication Workers of America, as well as environmental group the Sierra Club. A string of big-name Democrats visited the state to stump for him: Obama, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and more. And on Sunday, friend and neighbor Jon Bon Jovi performed a mini-concert at a Murphy rally.

Guadagno has the endorsements of Maggie's List, the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, and the National Federation of Independent Business. Her campaign has had a lack of support from big-name Republicans — though former governors Christie Whitman and Tom Kean appeared on the trail with her this weekend. Comedian Joe Piscopo has also stumped for Guadagno. Trump did not campaign for her, even though he spent much of the summer at his Bedminster golf club.

As for newspapers? The Star-Ledger, The Record, the New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed Murphy. The Asbury Park Press, the New Jersey Herald, and the New York Post endorsed Guadagno.

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A LOOK AT THE DEBATES

Murphy and Guadagno squared off in a pair of often fiery televised debates. Here's a look at the first and second debates.

Oliver and Rendo also took part in one lieutenant governor debate.

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WHAT DOES CHRISTIE SAY?

Christie's relationship with Guadagno has reportedly been strained in recent years and he hasn't made a public campaign appearance for his second-in-command. But he said he voted for her in the primary and that "she's the best person in the Republican primary to represent the party in the fall and to retain the governorship."

As for his view on Murphy? It's not a kind one. He called the Democrat — who hails from the Boston area — the "worst kind of Massachusetts liberal."

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Photo by John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

WHAT DOES TRUMP SAY?

Trump took to Twitter to weigh in on the Virginia governor's race. But he hasn't said a peep publicly about New Jersey's.

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THE VOTER BREAKDOWN

Here's the party affiliation of New Jersey voters:

Total registered voters: 5.75 million.

No party affiliation: 2.36 million.

Democrats: 2.12 million

Republicans: 1.24 million

The rest are split between seven other political parties.

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VOTING INFO

You must be registered to vote to cast a ballot Tuesday. The deadline to register has already passed for this election.

You can check whether you're registered at the Department of State's Division of Elections website.

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NJ Advance Media staff writers Matt Arco, Claude Brodesser-Akner, Adam Clark,Susan K. Livio, and Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.

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