Gov. Corzine would be the favorite today against any of the three Republicans running for governor, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll released today.

In theoretical match ups, Corzine leads former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie 40 percent to 33 percent; has a 46 to 28 edge over former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and a 43 to 23 lead over Assemblyman Rick Merkt.

The FDU survey finds that few people know the Republican candidates.

The poll, conducted from Jan. 2 to Jan. 7, found that only 44 percent of voters surveyed know Christie, who just declared his candidacy yesterday, after the poll was completed. The majority of people - 71 percent and 89 percent - haven't heard of Lonegan or Merkt, respectively. The three are fighting for the Republican nomination, to be decided in a June primary.

On Corzine, the poll said 42 percent of people have a favorable impression while 44 percent have an unfavorable view. But he has strong ratings among Democrats, who are a much larger portion of the New Jersey electorate.

"The key for Jon Corzine will be simply to hold together the broad coalition of Democratic voters," said Peter Woolley, the poll's director.

The poll surveyed 831 registered voters and has a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Details of the poll can be found here: http://publicmind.fdu.edu/

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