TRENTON -- It was opening day for New Jersey's 2017 political season on Monday, the deadline for major party office seekers to file petitions to run.

The race to succeed Gov. Chris Christie is officially underway with 11 Democratic and Republican hopefuls filing petitions to get their party's nod to replace the GOP governor in November's election.

In the state Legislature, meanwhile, all 279 Democrats and Republicans filed ballots to scrap for 120 Senate and Assembly seats.

Candidates and their staffers marched in and out of the state's Division of Election headquarters in Trenton on Monday, now they'll slug it out until New Jersey's June 6 primary election.

The gubernatorial race will be at the top of the ticket. There are six Democratic and five Republicans in the contest, according to petitions filed with the state Monday that have not yet been certified.

Democrat Phil Murphy, the early favorite to clinch his party's nomination and who has emerged with a clean sweep of critical county endorsements, dropped off six cardboard boxes that contained what he said were more than 43,000 signatures, far above the 1,000 needed, to get his name on the ballot.

Murphy's campaign boasted that it was a New Jersey record, surpassing the 14,835 signatures Christie submitted for his re-election bid in 2013.

"It represents a broad coalition of folks," Murphy said to reporters outside the Division of Election. "This is something we're proud of in particular because its another statement from our perspective about our mentality, and the way that we approach this election. We've taken it to the streets."

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who hopes to clinch the GOP nomination, took a swing at Murphy after she filed her petitions. Her campaign issued a statement with the headline: "Murphy 'overcompensating' by bragging about size of petition submission."

It was a sign of future attacks to come if Christie's second in command wins the Republican nomination.

"After using Goldman Sachs wealth to buy the loyalty of the Democrat Party establishment, it's painfully obvious Phil Murphy is overcompensating by paying for these signatures to fake grassroots support," Guadagno said.

It was a swipe at Murphy's time at Goldman Sachs, where he became a multimillionaire.

But before she can go head to head against any Democratic candidate, Guadagno has fellow GOP rivals. The list includes state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who has scored seven county lines across the state, which is enough to make the race competitive.

"What I've learned is that the more people who hear about my plan the more excited they get about my candidacy, Ciattarelli said after his petitions were filed.

"I'm the only candidate who's got specifics on how to turn this state around," he said. "People deserve specifics."

Newcomer Hirsh Singh, an Atlantic County engineer who launched his campaign on March 1, filed petitions to run in the Republican primary, as did Ocean County businessmen Joseph Rullo and Nutley Township Commissioner Steve Rogers.

Murphy is the early frontrunner on the Democratic side, but a poll released late last month showed a majority of his party's voters, 53 percent, said they "don't know" who they'll support.

Former U.S. Treasury official Jim Johnson said he submitted nearly 13,000 signatures that showed "grassroots support for his campaign.

"Real change requires real democracy," Johnson said. "This major milestone shows that our campaign is a true grassroots movement and our message of putting the people before the powerful is resonating across New Jersey."

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) and Tenafly Council President Mark Zinna also submitted petitions to run in the Democratic primary, as did Bill Brennan, an activist and former firefighter.

Johnson has qualified for public matching funds and has received about $900,000. Murphy has pledged to spend $10 million of his own cash in the race. Wisniewski has announced he also qualified for matching funds after reaching the $430,000 threshold.

Lesniak has not raised the needed $400,000 to qualify for public financing of his campaign, but told NJ Advance Media on Monday that he had "opened his piggy bank" to lend his campaign some $200,000 to qualify himself for the Democratic primary debates.

At least four Democratic hopefuls who announced campaigns but didn't submit petitions was Monica Brinson, a pharmaceutical sales rep from Hasbrouck Heights; Bob Hoatson, a former priest who has since become an advocate for sexual abuse victims; Lisa McCormick, a self-described progressive activist; and Titus Pierce, an Iraq War veteran who has worked in the banking industry.

Independent candidates don't have to file petitions until June 6, the day of the primaries.

A handful of races in the state Legislature will be competitive. Eight state lawmakers, some of whom have been big names in New Jersey politics, are not running for re-election.

State Sens. Diane Allen (R-Burlington), Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), Kevin O'Toole (R-Essex), and Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) are not seeking re-election.

In the race to succeed Allen, who announced her retirement in January after more than two decades in the Statehouse because of health struggles, Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) filed petitions to move to the upper chamber. Cory Cottingham also filed petitions to be in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, Rob Prisco filed the necessary signatures.

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth) is in the hunt for Kyrillos' old seat. He'll be against one of two Democrats who filed petitions: Joshua Leinsdorf or Sean Byrnes.

Three GOP hopefuls filed petitions to succeed O'Toole: Kristin Corrado, Edward Buttimore and Bergen County Republican Chairman Paul DiGaetano. Democratic candidate Thomas Duch also filed signatures.

Assemblyman Chris A. Brown (R-Atlantic) and Democratic hopeful Colin Bell, a former Atlantic County freeholder, filed petitions to fill Whelan's position.

The three lawmakers who filed petitions to run for governor -- Ciattarelli, Lesniak, and Wisniewski -- can't seek re-election to their current posts because state rules bar candidates from simultaneously seeking multiple offices.

NJ Advance Media staff writers Claude Brodesser-Akner and Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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