Next up: Choosing a Lt. Governor

With the primary election over, Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli have until July 28 to pick their party’s candidates for lieutenant governor.

The New Jersey Globe has assembled a short list of potential running mates.  The list is ours and takes into consideration the Three Abilities: Compatibility, Electability, and No Vulnerability.  The gubernatorial nominees are going to look for someone they get along with, for someone who brings some value added to the ticket – that means bringing them votes that they might not get on their own – and to avoid picking someone with their own baggage that could negatively affect the ticket.

Lt. Governor candidates need to accomplish three things between their selection and November: a smooth rollout; do no harm; and get along with the gubernatorial nominee and his or her team.  Campaigns aren’t going to put a whole lot of resources behind building up the name ID of the LG candidate, and the opposition isn’t going to spend any real money to build up their negatives.

Mikie Sherrill

Sherrill won a resounding 14-point victory in her bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in a contest that saw Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s bid to become the state’s first Black governor garner 20% of the vote and three overtly progressive contenders – Steve Fulop, Sean Spiller, and Baraka – win a combined 47%.

The conventional wisdom is that Sherrill will, among other things, use the Lt. Governor slot to pick a Black or Hispanic running mate to help shore up a group of voters who are an integral part of the Democratic base in New Jersey.   Sherrill will need to decide if she’s willing to select a running mate who backed someone else in the primary; that’s entirely her call.

High up on the list of possible running mates are two state senators, Troy Singleton (D-Delran) and Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), and Passaic Mayor Hector Lora.  Singleton, who has strong relationships in state government, could help Sherrill in South Jersey, and Wimberly, a celebrated football coach, is hugely popular among his Trenton colleagues.

Other possible candidates include two other state senators: Britnee Timberlake (D-East Orange), whose popularity among progressives could allow Sherrill to take some more moderate positions in the general election; and Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch), who has demonstrated an ability to win three Senate races in a Republican-leaning Monmouth County district.  (Gopal, it seems, might not want the job.)

Sherrill could also take a look at a deeper bench: Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D-Trenton), a former Mercer County Democratic Chair; Mercer County Executive Dan Benson, a former assemblyman; Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton, a former NAACP president who has won three countywide races; Mercer County Commissioner Samuel Frisby, whose mother is civil rights leader Jeannine LaRue; Camden County Commissioner Jonathan Young, the political director of the Carpenters union; Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch, who has built a network of school board members across the state; and West New York Mayor Albio Sires, a former congressman and Assembly Speaker.

And Sherrill could ask the current Lt. Governor, Tahesha Way, to stay on.

Jack Ciattarelli

Ciattarelli has been through the Lt. Governor selection process once before, vetting a number of candidates in 2021 while doggedly pursuing the running mate he wanted most: former State Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park).  Allen gave Ciattarelli everything he wanted: a longtime friend and supporter who had her own following in South Jersey and had been fully vetted in tough Senate races.

After winning 68% of the vote in the Republican primary and carrying all 21 counties with relative ease – and with the endorsement of President Donald Trump – Ciattarelli can pretty much pick whomever he wants; he’s got relatively few fences to mend and is unlikely to choose someone who wasn’t for him in the primary.

Two state senators could sit atop the list of possible LG candidates for Ciatatrelli: Kristin Corrado (R-Totowa) and Michael Testa, Jr. (R-Vineland).  Passaic County will be a battleground in the general election and Corrado won two races for county clerk before going to the Senate.  Testa ousted a Democratic incumbent in 2019 and has turned Cumberland County from Blue to Red.

Ciattarelli could also look at three members of the State Assembly: Antwan McClellan (R-Ocean City), who was one of the finalists four years ago, or Dawn Fantasia (R-Franklin) and Michael Inganamort (R-Chester), who represent the same northwestern New Jersey district and have deep local government experience.

There’s Middletown Mayor Tony Perry, who is a strong campaigner and prodigious fundraiser; Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon, who was also mentioned as an LG contender in 2021; State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-River-Vale), who could help Ciattarelli in Bergen County; and Belleville Mayor Michael Melham, an independent who has supported Ciattarelli twice.

And there are three wildcards: former State Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Middletown), who has wide experience and has run statewide before – against Bob Menendez in 2012; Ocean County Commissioner Virginia Haines, a former assemblywoman who helped Ciattarelli carry the state’s number one county; and Education activist Laura Overdeck, a billionaire with a degree in astrophysical science from Princeton and an MBA from Wharton who founded Bedtime Math, a non-profit group that helps parents bring recreational math to their children.