Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Republican Christopher Christie maintained his lead over Governor Jon Corzine in two opinion polls released today, even after the Democratic incumbent launched a series of attack ads.

Christie, a former U.S. Attorney, leads Corzine 47 percent to 37 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll, a wider margin than 46 percent to 40 percent findings last month. A survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind showed Corzine gaining slightly. Christie led the Democrat, 47 percent to 42 percent, compared with 45 percent to 39 percent in a July tally.

“New Jersey is hardened to in-your-face politics,” said Maurice Carroll, director of Quinnipiac’s polling institute in Hamden, Connecticut, in a statement. “Is the Corzine versus Christie slugfest just regular campaign stuff or nasty even by New Jersey’s rugged standards? Standard stuff, voters say.”

Corzine, a first-term Democrat, has trailed Christie in opinion polls since February amid voter anger over the state’s finances. New Jersey faces a projected deficit of $8 billion next fiscal year, even after cutting $4 billion of spending and raising taxes this year to close a budget gap, according to the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services.

Campaign Attacks

The polls are the final ones before Labor Day, when people pay closer attention to the race and the campaign season heats up, said Peter Woolley, director of PublicMind. Both candidates have likely been holding back campaigning and advertising in anticipation of the final push in the two months before Election Day, he said.

“Summer campaigns are like shakedown cruises,” Woolley said. “You see what works and what doesn’t. Now it’s time for them to go out on the field and play the game.”

The governor’s campaign has tried to tie Christie, 46, to former President George W. Bush with ads criticizing the Republican’s fundraising for the former president before his federal appointment. Ads also highlight a $46,000 personal loan to a subordinate for which Christie didn’t pay taxes and a decision to giver former Attorney General John Ashcroft millions of dollars in legal contracts.

Of the 77 percent of voters who reporting seeing the ads, 56 percent said they were unfair, and 36 percent said they are a legitimate campaign issue, Quinnipiac found. Voters were split, 47 percent in favor to 47 percent opposed, over Christie’s ads attacking Corzine, 62, for failing to guard the state against economic collapse, according to the poll.

Eyes on Jersey

Sixty-percent of voters disapprove of Corzine’s job performance in the Quinnipiac poll and 52 percent of those surveyed by PublicMind disapprove. Quinnipiac found that 57 percent hold an unfavorable opinion of Corzine, while 30 percent are unfavorable to Christie and 27 percent say they didn’t know enough to have a view of the challenger.

“The Republican appears to be in pretty good shape headed into Labor Day,” Woolley said. “The question is whether he has peaked while Corzine still has voters to win over.”

The New Jersey race is the only one in the U.S. this year in which an incumbent governor will seek re-election. Virginia is the only other state with its top spot on the ballot. New Jersey is the most densely populated state and has the third- highest tax-supported debt load in the country at about $31 billion. New Jersey’s governor has the power to appoint the treasurer, attorney general and state judges.

“Today’s polls make clear that voters want change and they’re going to start by changing governors,” Bill Stepien, Christie’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

Trustworthy Candidate

PublicMind’s polling found that the number of voters who have an unfavorable rating of Christie jumped to 35 percent from 25 percent. Asked which candidate is better described as “honest, trustworthy,” Christie got 32 percent to Corzine’s 31 percent. The Republican had a wider lead for that question, 33 percent to 24 percent, in PublicMind’s previous survey.

“The FDU poll and a variety of other public polls show that the governor’s message is beginning to resonate,” said Elisabeth Smith, a spokeswoman for Corzine. “New Jersey residents will have a very clear choice in November.”

Quinnipiac surveyed 1,612 voters from Aug. 25 to Aug. 30 for its poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points. The PublicMind poll, which surveyed 715 likely voters Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, has an error margin of 4 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton, New Jersey, at tdopp@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 1, 2009 13:08 EDT