New Jersey Election Results 2013: Chris Christie Wins Reelection For Governor

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was elected for a second term Tuesday, beating Democrat Barbara Buono in the general election race.

NBC News and the Associated Press called the race for Christie shortly after polls closed in the Garden State.

Polls leading up to Tuesday's election showed the Republican governor with a 20-point lead over his Democratic rival.

The Associated Press reported earlier Tuesday on the gubernatorial race:

Preliminary results of an exit poll — conducted for The Associated Press and television networks ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News — by Edison Research found the economy was the issue that mattered most to nearly half the voters.

Most called New Jersey's economy not so good or poor, though voters were divided on whether it had improved since Christie took office four years ago. Still, nearly two-thirds said they approve of Christie's handling of the economy.

The exit poll of 1,549 New Jersey voters in 40 precincts statewide has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.