New York

Murphy Names Sheila Oliver Running Mate; Guadagno Chooses Carlos Rendo

The tickets are set for November's gubernatorial election in New Jersey, as both candidates named their running mates this week.

Phil Murphy on Wednesday named Sheila Oliver, the former speaker of New Jersey's Assembly, as his running mate. On Thursday Kim Guadagno chose Carlos Rendo, the mayor of Woodcliff Lake. 

Murphy, the Democratic nominee for governor, has never held elected office. But in Oliver he gets a long-time politician who previously served as an Essex County freeholder and East Orange school board member before her 13 years in the legislature. 

Rendo, Lt. Gov. Guadagno's pick for the Republican ticket, is a lawyer who has been mayor of the Bergen County borough since 2016.

Oliver, an African-American woman, and Rendo, an immigrant from Cuba, would help diversify the tickets heading into the Nov. 7 vote.

The latest NBC 4 New York / Marist Poll gave Murphy a 21-point lead over Guadagno, who has been hurt by her eight-year association with the highly unpopular incumbent, Chris Christie.

Two polls earlier in the summer showed an even bigger gap, with Murphy holding a 2-1 lead. 

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