Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Christopher Christie ousted Governor Jon Corzine to become the first Republican elected to statewide office in New Jersey in 12 years.

Christie had 49 percent of the vote to 45 percent for Corzine, a first-term Democrat, with 98 percent of the precincts counted, according to the Associated Press’s election Web site.

Republicans, who account for just 1-in-5 New Jersey voters, last won a statewide election in 1997. Christie, a former U.S. attorney with a reputation for going after corrupt politicians, campaigned on the back of dissatisfaction with the incumbent’s performance during the U.S. recession.

“It’s a scorecard on Jon Corzine, no question about it,” said Christine Todd Whitman, the last New Jersey governor to win re-election and the last Republican to win a statewide race in New Jersey. “Four years ago he told us, hold me accountable.”

In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell, a former attorney general, was elected governor with 59 percent of the vote to 41 percent for Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News owner Bloomberg L.P., won re-election to a third term, defeating challenger William Thompson Jr. by a closer-than- forecast 51 percent to 46 percent.

New Jersey’s Christie started his campaign with a lead in opinion polls that reached 12 percent in July and fell as Corzine aired a series of television ads attacking his driving record, ethics and views on abortion and health care.

President Barack Obama traveled to the state to stump for Corzine on three occasions, and Vice President Joseph Biden and former President Bill Clinton also visited.

Close Race

Corzine and Christie were neck-and-neck in a Quinnipiac University poll released Nov. 2. The survey of 1,533 likely voters showed Christie with 42 percent to Corzine’s 40 percent, within the poll’s error margin of 2.5 percentage points. Independent candidate Christopher Daggett had 12 percent and 6 percent remained undecided.

Corzine, 62, the former co-chairman of Goldman, Sachs & Co., was the only incumbent U.S. governor seeking re-election this year. Corzine had spent the race seeking to convince voters he positioned the state to recover early from the U.S. economic recession and had worked to create jobs. He said he would expand state health care programs to cover the uninsured and focus on public schools.

Corzine said he called Christie to concede and called the Republican gracious. He said his administration would ensure a smooth transition.

“It’s been an incredible journey together and I’m grateful to all New Jerseyans,” Corzine said. “To have been governor of this great state has been a joy I never could have imagined. We may be retiring from politics, but we’re not retiring from life and we’ll continue to fight for those things we believe in.”

Corruption Issue

Christie built a reputation as a corruption fighter, winning convictions of about 130 elected officials including former Newark Mayor Sharpe James and former state Senate President John Lynch. Christie campaigned on promises to reduce spending and increase tax cuts, cut pension benefits for new government workers and boost property tax rebates to homeowners with the highest bills in the U.S.

The Republican survived a campaign that pollsters characterized as relentlessly negative. Democrats raised questions about a loan he made to a subordinate in the U.S. Attorney’s office. Corzine suggested traffic infractions showed Christie held himself above the law.

Along with Corzine’s advertising blitz, the Republican’s numbers fell as Daggett siphoned votes from the two candidates. The independent candidate had 5.5 percent of the vote with 98 percent of precincts counted, the AP’s election Web site said.

Christie’s running mate, Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, will become New Jersey’s first lieutenant governor.

Economic Crunch

The New Jersey campaign played out against the backdrop of a troubled state economy, reflected in an unemployment rate of 9.8 percent that is the highest in 32 years.

“Jon Corzine ran as good a campaign as he could, given the circumstances he’s facing,” said Joseph Marbach, a professor of political science at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Only one other sitting New Jersey governor has been defeated in a general election, Democrat James Florio, who lost to Whitman in 1993 after voters revolted against a sales-tax increase. Whitman defeated Democrat James McGreevey in 1997 to win a second term.

Florio, sipping wine at Corzine’s gathering at an East Brunswick Hilton, said losing is “not the greatest feeling.”

“It’s hard to be an incumbent in difficult economic times,” said Florio. “I know with some authority that if you’re in charge in bad economic times, it’s difficult to keep your job.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Dunstan McNichol in Trenton, New Jersey, at dmcnichol@bloomberg.net. Terrence Dopp in Trenton, New Jersey, at tdopp@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 4, 2009 00:46 EST