Jack Ciattarelli made a promise to himself when he was elected to the New Jersey Assembly in 2011. The Republican from Somerset County vowed to serve no more than three terms, or six years -- the same limit he imposed on himself when he won seats on his local council and county freeholder board in the past.

But last year, about halfway through term No. 3, Ciattarelli realized something. As a Republican in the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, he hadn't achieved what he set out to: helping reform property taxes, school funding, the tax code, and public worker benefits. So the 55-year-old set his sights on something bigger, just down the hall from the Assembly chambers in the Statehouse: the governor's office.