Photo by Tony Kurdzuk | The Star-Ledger

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The race to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor kicked into high gear this past week.

Christie, a term-limited Republican, is in the final year of his last term. And Monday was the deadline for candidates to file to run in the primaries for the Democratic and Republican nominations to replace him. Eleven contenders — six Democrats and five Republicans — met the requirements, joining a handful of third-party and independent hopefuls.

With less than two months to go before the primaries, here is a closer look at the race.

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THE CANDIDATES

Listed alphabetically according to party.

* denotes someone who has not held elected office.

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Democrats

Bill Brennan* — a community activist and former Teaneck firefighter

Jim Johnson* — a former U.S. treasury official under then-President Bill Clinton, a former federal prosecutor, and an attorney.

Raymond Lesniak — a member of the state Senate from Union County who has served in the state Legislature since 1978 and a veteran attorney.

Phil Murphy* — a former U.S. ambassador to Germany, a former finance chair of the Democratic National Committee, and a former Goldman Sachs banking executive

John Wisniewski — a member of the state Assembly from Middlesex County who has served in the state Legislature for more than 20 years, a veteran attorney, and a former state Democratic Party chair

Mark Zinna — president of the Tenafly borough council, a councilman since 2012, and owner of a small business that manages data for law firms

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Republicans

Jack Ciattarelli — a member of the state Assembly from Somerset County since 2011, a former Somerset County freeholder, the owner of a medical publishing company, and a certified public accountant

Kim Guadagno — the lieutenant governor under Christie since 2010, a former Monmouth County sheriff, and a former federal prosecutor

Steven Rogers — a Nutley township commissioner, a retired Nutley police officer, a former U.S. military official, and a former adviser to now-President Donald Trump's campaign

Joseph Rullo* — an Ocean County businessman and actor

Hirsh Singh* — an Atlantic County native who is an executive in the aerospace and defense industry

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Third parties and independents

Peter Rohrman* — the Libertarian nominee, who is an operations director for an internet-service provider

Seth Kaper-Dale* — the Green Party nominee, who is pastor of the Reformed Church of Highland Park.

Jon Lancelot* — an independent candidate who is a computer technician and activist who formerly worked for defense contractor Lockheed Martin at the Pentagon

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POLLING

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The most recent poll in the race, released by Quinnipiac University on March 15, shows Murphy is the favorite for the Democratic nomination and Guadagno for the Republican nod. And Murphy leads Guadagno, 47 to 25 percent, in a head-to-head matchup.

But the survey also found 70 percent of voters don't know enough about Murphy to form an opinion of him and 63 percent don't know enough about Guadagno.

The poll showed Murphy leads the Democratic pack with 23 percent, followed by Wisniewski with 6 percent, Johnson and Lesniak both with 4 percent, and Brennan with 2 percent.

Meanwhile, Guadagno led the GOP race with 28 percent, followed by comedian Joe Piscopo (who ended up not filing to run as a Republican) at 18 percent, Ciattarelli at 3 percent, Rogers at 2 percent, and Rullo at 1 percent.

Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans nearly 2-to-1 in New Jersey. But the parties have split governor's races over the last 25 years, with three Democrats and two Republicans winning.

Still, political experts say Democrats appear poised to retake the governor's office after eight years of Christie, whose approval rating has plunged over the last year.

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MONEY

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In New Jersey, gubernatorial candidates can utilize what is known as the "matching funds" program. Those who raise at least $430,000 qualify to receive two dollars in public money for every dollar they raise.

So far, only Johnson and Guadagno have officially qualified. Johnson has received $875,474 in matching funds, while Guadagno has gotten $830,818.

Wisniewski and Ciattarelli announced they have raised enough to qualify, but the state Election Law Enforcement Commission is still reviewing their applications.

Murphy, who lent his campaign at least $10 million, said he is not seeking matching funds.

But his money is a flashpoint of its own in the race. Murphy donated at least $1.15 million to Democratic candidates and organizations in New Jersey since 2001, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis. Critics accuse him of using his money to curry favor with Democratic officials and buy their support. Murphy's campaign vehemently denies this, saying the contributions have gone toward helping build the party across the state, especially in more Republican-leaning areas.

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COUNTY ENDORSEMENTS

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Receiving the endorsements of county parties is key in New Jersey because the winner usually receives placement at the top of the ballot in the primary, as well as crucial organizational support.

On the Democratic side, Murphy won endorsements from all 21 counties in the state.

On the Republican side, Guadagno won endorsements from 14 counties. That includes top-of-the-ballot-placement in Atlantic, Bergen, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hudson, Monmouth, Ocean, and Passaic. She also won in Morris, Salem, Sussex, and Warren, but those counties do not award the top ballot spot.

Ciattarelli won prime ballot placement in Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, and Union.

No one in modern state history has won the governorship without any county lines. But many hopefuls — including Johnson, Lesniak, and Wisniewski on the Democratic side and Rogers and Rullo on the Republican side — are looking to bypass that system, touting their bids as grassroots campaigns targeted directly at the people.

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OTHER ENDORSEMENTS

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On the Democratic side, Murphy has been endorsed by the state's two U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, both Democrats, as well as all seven of the state's Democratic members of the U.S. House. He has also been backed by Levi Sanders, the son of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders; the New Jersey Sierra Club; the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters; the New Jersey Working Families Alliance' AFSCME International; CWA NJ; and a slew of other labor unions.

Lesniak is supported by Steven Goldstein, the founder of Garden State Equality, and the Humane Society Legislative Fund.

Wiswniewski has the endorsement of National Nurses United; the Princeton Community Democratic Organization; Jeffrey Weaver, the manager of Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign; and Larry Hamm, chairman of the People's Organization for Progress.

On the Republican side, Guadagno has received the backing of more than 300 Republican officials from across all 21 of the state's counties.

Ciattarelli boasts endorsements from more than six dozen officials from across six counties.

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KEY ISSUES

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The race is likely to be dominated by a number of issues: how to reduce New Jersey's notoriously high property taxes, how to fix the state's underfunded public-worker pension system, school funding reform, environmental protection, and more.

Here is a look at where some of the candidates stand on pension reform.

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THE CHRISTIE FACTOR

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But one of the biggest issues is likely to be Christie himself. The Republican's approval ratings have dipped to record lows over the last few months.

Almost all of the Democratic candidates have vowed to improve the state in the wake of Christie. Some Republicans — like Ciattarelli and Rullo — have also been critical.

Even Guadagno, Christie's second-in-command, has avoided bringing up the governor's name on the campaign trail. She has also opposed Christie's plan to spend $300 million to renovate the Statehouse.

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Photo by John O'Boyle | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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THE TRUMP FACTOR

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A number of Democrats have taken aim at Trump, a Republican who has low approval ratings in New Jersey. Murphy even released a TV ad in which he vowed to fight the president's agenda.

But two Republicans in the race are big Trump supporters: Rogers and Rullo, who are running campaigns that mirror the one Trump ran in 2016.

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DEBATES

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There will be four debates leading up to the June 6 primary — two for each major party.

The first will be May 9 at Stockton University in Galloway. The first Democratic and Republican debates will both be held that night, one at 6:30 p.m., the other at 8 p.m.

The other two debates will be hosted at NJTV's studios in Newark. Dates and times have not been set.

Anyone who qualifies for matching funds can participate. As for everyone else? Lesniak has lent his campaign $200,000 to qualify for the debates. Murphy, who is forgoing matching funds, said he will participate in the debates.

That means the debate field is likely to be Johnson, Lesniak, Murphy, and Wisniewski on the Democratic side and Guadagno and Ciattarelli on the Republican side.

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KEY DATES

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May 9 — the first Democratic and Republican primary debates

June 6 — the Democratic and Republican primary elections, as well as the deadline for independent candidates to file to run

Nov. 7 — general election day (New Jersey is one of only two states in the U.S. to host a gubernatorial election this year, along with Virginia)

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WHAT ABOUT JOE PISCOPO?

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Piscopo, the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member, has said for months that he is "seriously" considering entering the race. But he opted not to enter the Republican primary. He still has until June 6 to enter as an independent.

"We're very seriously still considering it," Piscopo told NJ Advance Media this past week. "Loving the Republicans, loving the Democrats, but is it time for an independent in New Jersey? We all kind of think, maybe it is, "

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More coverage:

Opening Day for N.J. election season produces 11 candidates for governor

Meet the Democrats and Republicans in this year's race to succeed Christie as N.J. governor

Poll shows few know those who want to succeed Christie

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