Candidates across the board for New Jersey governor are struggling with name recognition, leaving an open — and crowded — playing field less than five months before the primary election, new poll numbers suggest.

In the race to be New Jersey's next governor, no clear Democratic frontrunner has materialized in early polling. On the Republican side, name recognition helped give an early bump to former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.

With more than 10 candidates running this year to become New Jersey’s next governor, a new poll shows Republican Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill as the early front-runners less than six months to the big primary election.