With New Jersey's unemployment rate above 9 percent, most pollsters expect economic woes to influence the state's voters when they head to the polls Tuesday.
All 120 legislative seats are up, but only a handful of races are considered truly competitive, and unless the GOP pulls off an unexpected miracle, pundits don't expect Democrats will lose control of either chamber.
With no governor's race atop the ticket, turnout is expected to be light for an election that also features county and municipal races.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The now neck-and-neck state Senate race in Atlantic County's Second Legislative District has been the most expensive and one of the most closely watched this year, as GOP Assemblyman Vince Polistina hopes to knock off Democratic State Sen. Jim Whelan.
Republicans also have spent a fair amount in Burlington County's Seventh District, where Democratic Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. is running with newly appointed Assemblyman Troy Singleton. They face Republican candidates Jim Keenan, Mount Laurel's mayor, and Chris Halgas, a Moorestown businessman.
Also in the Seventh, Republican State Sen. Diane Allen faces Democratic challenger Gail Cook, the mayor of Beverly.
The 14th District, which includes Middlesex and Mercer Counties, is expected to have a good turnout from the many state government workers who live there. Democratic State Sen. Linda Greenstein faces challenger Richard Kanka, a Hamilton school board member and the father of a slain 7-year-old girl for whom Megan's Law is named.
State Sen. President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) faces Republican lawyer Michael Mulligan in the Third District, which spans parts of Salem, Cumberland, and Gloucester Counties.
Republican Assemblyman Domenick DiCicco of Franklin Township faces a tougher election battle in this district after his hometown was moved from the GOP-friendlier Fourth District. He now faces two Democratic incumbents in a district that has nearly twice as many registered Democrats than Republicans. DiCicco and his running mate, physician Robert Villare, will run against Democratic Assemblywoman Celeste Riley and Assemblyman John Burzichelli.
Republican Giancarlo D'Orazio is challenging Democratic Sen. Fred Madden in the Fourth District, which includes Camden and Gloucester Counties. In the Assembly race, Republican challenger Shelley Lovett, one of only two GOP candidates to receive support from the state's largest teachers' union, is running with Patricia Fratticcioli of Monroe Township. Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D., Gloucester) angered the New Jersey Education Association when he voted for pension overhaul this summer, so the teachers' union supported his opponent. Moriarty's running mate, Gabriela Mosquera, has received financial support from Better Education for New Jersey Kids Inc., a group that supports tenure reform, merit pay for teachers, and other changes in public education.
Freshman Sen. Donald Norcross (D., Camden) faces Republican Keith Walker in the Fifth District, which includes the City of Camden and parts of Camden and Gloucester Counties. Norcross ran successfully for the Assembly in 2009 and was appointed to a vacant Senate seat soon after he was sworn in 2010. Walker, a former history teacher at the Creative Arts High School in Camden, has run for Camden mayor in the past.
Running for Assembly in the Fifth District, which has three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans, are Democratic incumbents Angel Fuentes and Gilbert "Whip" Wilson and Republicans William Levins and Terrell Ratliff.
Sexually charged tweets brought attention to Republican Phil Mitsch, who is running for Senate in Camden County's Sixth District. He faces Democratic Sen. James Beach. For Assembly, Democratic incumbents Louis Greenwald and Pamela Lampitt face Republican challengers Allan Richardson and Gregory Horton.
In the Eighth District, Republican Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego, who was appointed to the seat in 2010 after spending one term in the Assembly, runs unopposed after former Olympian and Medford Democrat Carl Lewis had his name stricken from the ballot after a five-month battle over his New Jersey residency.
Democrats are running two women for Assembly in the Republican-leaning district, which includes much of Burlington County and parts of Camden and Atlantic Counties. Lumberton Councilwoman Anita Lovely and Waterford Committeewoman Pam Finnerty face Republican incumbent Scott Rudder and newcomer Chris Brown.
Some Burlington County voters will vote in the Ninth District, which includes parts of Ocean and Atlantic Counties. Republican Sen. Christopher Connors is challenged by Democrat Dorothy Ryan. For Assembly, Republican incumbents Brian Rumpf and DiAnne Govec are running against Democratic challengers Carla Kearney and Bradley Billhimer.
And other Burlington County voters will cast ballots in the 12th District, which covers parts of Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Republican Assemblyman Samuel Thompson, whose hometown was moved from the 13th to the 12th District this year, is running for state Senate. He faces Democrat Robert Brown, a retired police officer and lawyer. In the Assembly race, Republican Assemblyman Ronald Dancer, who now represents the 30th District, is running with Republican Robert Clifton, Monmouth County freeholder director. They face Democratic challengers Catherine Tinney Rome and William Spedding.
In the Camden County freeholders race, Democratic incumbents Louis Cappelli Jr., a lawyer, and Scot McCray, an assistant vice president at a Camden health clinic, face Republicans Joshua Rocks, a planner with the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and Eugene Lawrence, a workplace-ethics consultant.
In Cherry Hill, the race for mayor is wide open after the retirement of Mayor Bernie Platt. Republican Stephen Buividas is running against Democrat Chuck Cahn.
Four council seats are on the ballot in the city of Camden. In Ward 1, Democratic incumbent Dana Burley will square off against Republican Edward D. Torres. In Ward 3, Council President Frank Moran will face the Rev. Clyde Cook. In Ward 4, Democratic incumbent Luis Lopez faces Mary Cortes, who is running as an independent. In Ward 2, Democrat Brian Coleman runs unopposed after defeating fellow Democrat Elton Custis in the primary.
In Burlington County, Mary Anne Reinhart, the lone Democrat left in the Burlington County government, is running for reelection to the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Her running mate is Machell Still-Pettis, a political novice from Westampton who manages a nonprofit homeless shelter. Their Republican opponents are Leah Arter, a former Beverly City Council president, and Joe Howarth, Evesham's deputy mayor.
The race for surrogate in Burlington has been testy. Incumbent George T. Kotch, who once was a Democrat and switched parties, faces Sander Friedman, a lawyer known for winning judgments against counties - including Burlington - that were overcharging the public for copies of records.
Democrats have attacked Kotch for out-of-court settlements he paid to a former female employee and a female client. The former employee says Kotch sexually harassed her and the client claimed that he had sexually assaulted her. Kotch, a lawyer, says both women lied but that he paid them to avoid the cost of litigation.
In Gloucester County's Washington Township, a special election will pick the new mayor, a post that has had high turnover in recent years. Democrat Barbara Wallace is running against Republican Kevin Murphy.
In the freeholder race, Republicans Penni Heritage, Barbara Capelli, and Mike Pantaleo face Democratic incumbent Heather Simmons and newcomers Adam Taliaferro and Lyman Barnes.
Voters will weigh in on a number of ballot issues, including whether to allow sports betting in New Jersey, a business dominated by Las Vegas since the 1970s. The statewide referendum could allow sports betting at New Jersey's casinos and four racetracks, although, if approved, the measure is likely to face legislative and legal hurdles.
Local questions include Moorestown's decision whether to remain a dry town and Chesilhurst's contemplation of continuing to bus elementary students to neighboring Winslow.