By David Cruz
Correspondent
Kim Guadagno has spent seven years mastering the art of the ceremonial. But within what could be weeks, the state’s first lieutenant governor could very well find herself as New Jersey’s 56th governor. If, as expected, Gov. Chris Christie takes a job in the Trump administration, he would need to resign and, according to state law, the lieutenant governor would ascend. Today, in perhaps a sign of things to come, Guadagno did something she rarely does — talk to the press.
“We’re waiting to see what happens,” she said today. “Everybody knows the governor is doing a great job as the leader of the Trump transition. He’s worked very hard on that. We don’t know, I don’t know what comes next but for all of you that don’t know, the lieutenant governor’s supposed to be prepared for whatever comes next and so this is what we do. We’re prepared to take over if that’s what happens; we’re prepared to stand down if that’s what happens because that’s the nature of the job.”
Guadagno, a former county prosecutor and assistant U.S. attorney, has, for better and worse, been at the governor’s side (standing slightly behind, technically) through good times and bad. With a portfolio heavy on business development, she has built a reputation as honest and bipartisan, which has helped make her a favorite in a Republican primary next year. Experts suggest replacing a governor with a record low approval rating with a fresh, female face could change the race.
“Chris Christie right now is at 20 percent approval,” noted Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for Politics at Rider University. “He is viewed very unfavorably and is a huge albatross around the neck of any Republican who wants to replace him next year. If he leaves, it’s as if there’s an entirely blank slate.”
With at least six months in office before the Republican primary and almost a year before the general election, Guadagno could have a chance to put her own stamp on the office, as the un-Christie.
“It’s different if you run for governor if you’re the incumbent governor and she’s going to be a fresh governor because she’s going to have the advantage that she’s not Chris Christie,” added Hudson County Republican Chairman Jose Arango. “She is going to have a new beginning and people are going ot know Kim Guadagno for what she is.”
Democrats will criticize her role as the number two in a combative administration that has veered sharply to the right, reflecting the governor’s national ambitions, but will the Christie doctrine necessarily be the Guadagno doctrine?
“She’s already starting to make a case that she is her own person,” said Seton Hall Professor Matthew Hale. “That she disagrees with the governor on a number of issues. She did not support Donald Trump. She was against question 2 in the ballot initiatives and both of those are different than Gov. Christie.”
Guadagno’s closest brush with scandal came when she was accused of trying to strongarm Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer to support a development in exchange for Sandy funding. Many observers actually gave her credit for her handling of the whole affair, which never went beyond a few sensational headlines and never even came up at the recently completed GWB trial. For Guadagno, who has yet to officially announce a run for governor, it could turn out that the catbird seat was located right behind the governor all along.