In the final leg of New Jersey’s unpredictable governor’s race, both candidates are desperately casting about for ways to save the state from financial doom as they confront the dark economic reality that will severely restrict the winner of Tuesday’s voting.

The Democratic governor, Jon S. Corzine, says he may revive his plan to lease the New Jersey Turnpike to raise cash — a proposal that he abandoned last year in the face of intense opposition from lawmakers and voters.

His Republican challenger, Christopher J. Christie, retreating from a key campaign promise, says he can no longer fully restore property tax breaks for homeowners, given the uncertainty of the state’s finances.

In separate interviews in recent days with The New York Times, the two...