Outgoing Gov. Chris Christie and his record-low approval ratings hover mightily above the contest to replace him. His Republican lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, has tried to distance herself from Christie. But former Goldman Sachs executive and US Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy, the Democratic nominee, led consistently in the polls – and spent tens of millions of his own dollars on the race. Murphy was also supported at rallies by former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden; President Donald Trump didn’t endorse Guadagno.

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