2009 New Jersey elections
[5] Christie's chief opponent in the primary was former Bogota mayor Steve Lonegan, known for his very right-wing positions and vocal opposition to the Corzine administration; another staunch conservative, General Assemblyman Rick Merkt was also on the ballot.David Brown, Christian Keller, and Franklin Township mayor Brian D. Levine also filed to run in the Republican primary, but their petitions were challenged by Lonegan and they were disqualified from the ballot when administrative judges ruled that their nominating petitions failed to meet the threshold of 1,000 valid signatures.[7][8] Christie and Lonegan attacked each other relentlessly throughout the primary campaign through mailers and robocalls, with each seeking to undermine the other by drawing the public's attention to scandals involving the other.The only one of those to have held elected office, former Glen Ridge mayor Carl Bergmanson, was running on a platform of fiscal discipline, social liberalism, and government reform; he had received the support of the Citizens Against Tolls website.[17] On July 27, Daggett announced that he had selected longtime Kean University professor and administrator Frank J. Esposito as his running mate.Others mentioned for the post had included New Jersey Senators Diane Allen and Jennifer Beck, as well as Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan.Chris Daggett, an independent candidate who has qualified for matching funds, selected Ocean Township's Frank J. Esposito, a longtime professor and administrator at Kean University who served as an advisor to the Commissioner of Education in the Thomas Kean administration, as his running mate.Summary of the November 3, 2009 New Jersey General Assembly election results: One statewide question was on the ballot which was approved by voters: