Corzine spokesman Robert Corrales repeated that goal on Friday.
But during two weeks of requests, Corzine was not made available for an interview to directly answer questions on the issue or his changing stand.
The video of the Asbury Park gay-pride event provides some clues. In it, Corzine again cited God and "fundamental" beliefs, but now while endorsing same-sex marriage.
"This is fundamental," he said in the clip. "It is about what we are about as a country. What we're about as a people. Human rights, civil rights, are absolutely key. In God's eyes we're all one people, and we need to recognize that and behave that way."
In an e-mail, Goldstein, who comanaged Corzine's U.S. Senate campaign, said, "Jon's current position has been an evolution over a number of years. It's a genuine position of a very genuine, honest man."
Christie has staked out an opposing position.
In a May 12 Republican primary debate, he said he believed that marriage "has to be between one man and one woman and that we should keep it that way in the state of New Jersey."
If a bill legalizing gay marriage came out of the Legislature, Christie said, "it should be vetoed." If the issue went to a public vote, he said, he would campaign against same-sex marriage.
Mike DuHaime, a Christie strategist, said the race would be a referendum on Corzine's performance and the state's levels of unemployment and taxes.
"Almost every other issue is going to be secondary to that in terms of what voters are focused on," DuHaime said.
He said Christie's stances from the debate were unchanged.
In April, New Jerseyans in a Quinnipiac University poll supported gay marriage, 49 percent to 43 percent. But Clay Richards, the poll's assistant director, said the issue was "not a deal-breaker" for many who backed the idea.
"I can't see it moving a lot of votes," he said, adding that the economy and taxes remained the state's top concerns.
Even if Christie wins, he might not have the chance to block same-sex marriage.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D., Mercer), who has sponsored a bill to allow gay marriage, said it could come up in the lame-duck legislative session after November's election.
"It's probably going to be a reality sooner than later," Gusciora said.
John Tomicki, president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage, said he believed lawmakers had long planned to approve a bill for "homosexual nuptials" after the election.
"Get us reelected, and then we're going to tell you we'll ram it through when you're not watching," Tomicki said. "That is not the best of American political tradition."
His group wants to put on the ballot a constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to one man and one woman.
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