Christie Wins Big, Voter Turnout Low in Southern New Jersey

Gov. Chris Christie put forth a strong showing in southern New Jersey en route to his lopsided win over Democratic challenger Barbara Buono Tuesday night.

Christie collected over 60 percent of the unofficial vote in Gloucester and Burlington counties, while edging Buono by 11 points in Camden County.

Voter turnout was also nearly identical in Gloucester and Burlington counties, at about 41 percent. In Camden County, voter turnout hit just 31.43 percent in an election that saw what has been described as an abysmal voter turnout throughout the state.

Christie scored 64.03 percent of the vote in Gloucester County, his highest percentage of the three counties. It came in the form of 50,449 votes to Buono’s 26,993 (34.18 percent). Out of 193,820 total registered voters in the county, 80,473 showed up total, with 72,815 showing up on Election Day itself, as opposed to voting by mail.

Christie’s highest number of actual votes came in Burlington County, where he scored 73,857 for 62.50 percent of the vote. Buono’s 42,580 accounted for just 36.03 percent.  According to the Burlington County Clerk’s Office, there were no mail-in ballots, and 119,838 of the 290,279 registered voters showed up on Election Day.

Buono’s best performance of the three counties came in Camden County, where her 48,556 votes translated to 43.89 percent of the vote. Christie accumulated 60,272 total votes for 54.48 percent.

In Camden County, just 113,818 of the 362,130 registered voters bothered to register their vote, with 107,053 coming out on Election Day.

The low voter turnout statewide has been attributed to a number of possibilities, including low interest in the gubernatorial race, where a victory by Christie was a foregone conclusion.

There was also a special election less than a month ago, in which the state registered 24 percent total turnout for Democrat Cory Booker’s victory over Republican Steve Lonegan.