Woodbridge, N.J. ? Both major-party candidates in the race for New Jersey governor rebutted allegations of sexual affairs Friday, a day after the release of a controversial television commercial that quoted one candidate’s ex-wife.

As the campaign headed into its final weekend, Republican Doug Forrester denied he had an extramarital affair, which was reported in a New York Daily News gossip column that attributed the allegation to an e-mail it received.

“These are false accusations. It is wrong. It is despicable. It is the example of the kind of campaign that Jon Corzine has been running from the beginning,” Forrester said at an appearance in Woodbridge.

Corzine, campaigning in Newark, was asked by reporters whether he had a sexual relationship with a former staffer. He said the rumors were not true and said, “I’m not going to comment on that kind of low, guttural politics going on in this state.”

The Democrat also denied that his campaign was behind the rumor about Forrester. “I have no knowledge at all about the issue you’re talking about,” Corzine said.

The exchanges came a day after Forrester’s campaign released a controversial television commercial that quoted Corzine’s ex-wife.

Forrester said Friday he thought it was fair to use the remark by Joanne Corzine from a story that appeared in Wednesday’s New York Times. “All I could think was that Jon did let his family down, and he’ll probably let New Jersey down, too,” she told the newspaper.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester greets Jennie Caltabiano, of Mullica Hill, N.J., as Carmella Spadaro, left, and Rita Caltabiano look on Friday during a campaign stop at the Harrison Diner in Mullica Hill. Forrester is running against Democrat Jon Corzine.

“It has everything to do with governing. It has nothing to do with private life,” Forrester said.

The Corzine campaign responded by accusing Forrester of bringing “Bush-Rove smear tactics to our state.” Karl Rove is President Bush’s top political adviser.

Joanne Corzine has said her former husband’s political ambitions destroyed their 33-year marriage. The couple divorced in 2003, three years after he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Corzine has avoided directly criticizing his ex-wife, saying the breakup of a marriage is painful, and “I believe that you can imagine that that pain sometimes colors how people might speak to issues.”

Joanne Corzine did not return telephone messages left by The Associated Press.

Two polls released Friday suggested the race was tightening.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University-PublicMind poll found 43 percent of respondents favoring Corzine, with 41 percent for Forrester. The poll of likely voters was conducted from last Friday to Thursday and had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

A WNBC/Marist College poll gave Corzine an apparent lead with a 49-40 edge among likely voters, with 11 percent undecided. It was conducted Wednesday and Thursday and also had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The second poll appeared to show that Corzine lost support after the Forrester commercial began airing featuring Corzine’s ex-wife. The two were running about even among the voters contacted on Thursday.

The candidates, both multimillionaires, have already spent a combined $70 million on their campaigns, a record amount for a New Jersey governor’s race.

Corzine, 58, is the former chief executive officer of the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs and Forrester, 52, is president of a prescription drug benefits company.