Christopher J. Christie, campaigning as an agent of change, overwhelmed a powerful Democratic advantage yesterday to defeat Gov. Corzine and become New Jersey's first Republican governor-elect in a dozen years.

"Hey, New Jersey - we did it," Christie said in his victory speech last night, as the strains of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" faded in the background.

"We are in a crisis," said Christie, a former U.S. attorney, who was surrounded by his family in a packed ballroom at the Hilton Parsippany hotel. "The times are extraordinarily difficult, but I stand here tonight full of hope for our future, full of expectations and dreams, not just for my children, but all the children of New Jersey."

It was Corzine's first electoral loss in a nine-year career financed by about $130 million from his personal fortune. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 and to the governor's office in 2005.

"This is a moment where there is some little sadness, I must say," Corzine told supporters, some of them in tears, at the Hilton East Brunswick hotel. "To be the governor of this great state has been a joy that I could never, never have imagined. It has been a tough time, but it was one where we made a difference in people's lives."

In this race, Corzine called on some powerful friends to help him - including President Obama and Vice President Biden, who each came to New Jersey three times.

Some called the election a referendum on Obama, though in exit polls voters said they had local taxes and the economy on their minds. Still, moments after the race was called, the spinning by national party figures began.

"Defeating a deep-pocketed incumbent in a Democratic state like New Jersey is a tremendous accomplishment and signals the beginning of the GOP's comeback," Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement. The RGA spent about $7.3 million in New Jersey.

Christie, 47, fought Corzine aggressively, campaigning in cities and other Democratic strongholds. The Newark native had won only one other race, a contest for Morris County freeholder. He lives in the North Jersey town of Mendham with his wife, Mary Pat, and their four children, ages 6 to 16.

Christie also faced a spirited campaign from independent Chris Daggett, 59, a former moderate Republican. Daggett conceded at the Dolce Hotel in his hometown of Basking Ridge, not knowing who won but still worried about the state's future.

"Whether it's Jon Corzine or Chris Christie, they deserve the support of every one of us in New Jersey, because the problems of this state are significant," he said.

Daggett did well in debates and came close to convincing voters that he could win, but crumbled in the final two weeks of the race.

For the first time, New Jersey voters chose a lieutenant governor yesterday, selecting Republican Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno. Democratic State Sen. Loretta Weinberg of Bergen County ran with Corzine.

Although New Jersey is a reliably blue state, the conditions could not have been better for a challenger to unseat Corzine, an unpopular incumbent running in a recession. Unemployment went up to 9.8 percent - a rate higher than in nearby Pennsylvania and New York state. State revenues fell, and Corzine raised taxes on the wealthy and cut back property-tax rebates for many in the middle as well as the upper classes.

Christie rigidly stuck to a plan of not giving voters too many specifics about his agenda, fearing the Corzine money machine would turn them against him. That stymied some voters ready for change but looking for a reason to choose Christie.

"A good proportion of voters were expecting Christie to come out and be hard-hitting about what he would do about the budget and property taxes," said Brigid Harrison, a Montclair University political scientist. That didn't happen.

Democrats spent yesterday getting urban voters to the polls, trying to exploit their numerical advantage over Republicans. Their fear was a repeat of 1993, when Democratic turnout in the cities did not give former Democratic Gov. Jim Florio enough of a bump to offset Republican Christie Whitman's victory margins in the suburbs.

County Democratic machines were supplemented by about 15,000 union members, angered by Christie's promises to extract concessions from state workers, the threat to teacher unions that he would open more charter schools and give out school vouchers in failing districts, and his opposition to using only union workers on public-works projects.

The GOP pushed hard in suburban Morris, Ocean, Burlington, Bergen and Monmouth Counties, as well as towns rimming the cities, where they hoped they could find Reagan Democrats - or their adult children - to vote for Christie. Christie did win some Democratic areas, even Gloucester County.

At the polls, voters reflected on their choices.

Lisa Watson, 36, of Deptford, said she briefly considered voting for Daggett but changed her mind at the last minute.

"I was worried that a vote for Daggett was really a vote for Christie against Corzine," Watson said. "I absolutely do not want to see Christie as governor of New Jersey."

Frank Pino, 56, a union electrician from Deptford, said that while his union had urged him to vote for Corzine, in his heart he wanted to vote for the Republican. "I'm mad at Corzine, but in the end I voted for him," Pino said.

In Ocean County's Tuckerton, Frank Kremer, 47, said: "I cannot see how anyone, Democrat or Republican, would ever vote for Jon Corzine again. Even if I thought he did do a good job, I wouldn't have voted for him because I'm a Republican."

The content and the crush of television advertising helped shape the race, one of only two gubernatorial contests. In Virginia, former state Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell, a Republican, defeated Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, a state senator.

Corzine, 62, a Wall Street millionaire, relentlessly attacked Christie in the summer and early fall on ethics issues and even on his girth, a move that might have cost Corzine some points. He wanted to marginalize Christie's background as a successful U.S. attorney, whose central argument in this campaign was that he had the executive experience to lead a troubled state.

Corzine outspent Christie in September and early October on television ads by almost 3-1, costing Christie his substantial lead. In the end, Corzine may have spent $30 million, much of it his own money, on the race.

As governor, Christie must deal with a looming $8 billion deficit, and a Legislature dominated by Democrats. But he will have opportunities as well, including the chance to appoint four of the seven members of the state Supreme Court.

Other Races

Camden: Dana Redd holds off three challengers for mayor. B1.

Trenton: Democrats maintain grip on the Assembly. B1.

Burlco: Republicans keep their hold on power. B1.

Virginia: McDonnell of the GOP wins race for governor. A17.

Contact staff writer Cynthia Burton at 856-779-3858 or cburton@phillynews.com.

Contributing to this article were staff writers Rita Giordano, Jan Hefler, Adrienne Lu, Maya Rao, Caroline Russomanno, Matthew Spolar, and Jacqueline L. Urgo.