Republican Chris Christie has made his choice for lieutenant governor — Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno.
It was one of those highly anticipated electoral moments, and yet I have to wonder just what the choice of an LG will mean in the 2009 governor’s race.
Remember, this is the first time voters will see a running mate on a gubernatorial ticket and, while there are those who expect the LG slot to have an impact similar to the choice of a vice presidential running mate, I just don’t know if that is true.
There is no history of that here and it is unclear how the LG post plays in other states.
In the case of Guadagno and Christie, she comes from a county that is a Republican stronghold, but is not a household name in the state. She does vary the ticket some demographically, but not as much as she could have — the GOP is running two candidates from Republican counties who both are prosecutors with little experience beyond that.
There are rumors that Jon Corzine will pick a former “Apprentice” winner as his running mate — an African American from Franklin who has roots in East Windsor. Randal Pinkett
is a Rutgers University graduate and Rhodes Scholar, according to his Web site, randalpinkett.com. The Franklin Township, Somerset County, resident is described on the site as an “entrepreneur, speaker, author, scholar and community servant.”
Will he help? There are some who think he will aid with turnout among minority voters, though one has to wonder if his TV ties will play well.
Then again, this election, ultimately, will boil down to a referendum on Corzine and whether people think Christie can do a better job under difficult circumstances.
Hank Kalet 