Dustin Racioppi

State House Bureau, @dracioppi

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno plans to run for governor, according to paperwork filed with the state Thursday, sharpening the race to succeed Chris Christie next year. She now becomes the favorite, based on her rank and tenure, to win the Republican Party nomination in a thin field of candidates.

Guadagno filed the necessary paperwork to raise money for the governor's race Thursday, said Scott Miccio, a spokesman for the Election Law Enforcement Commission. She did not respond to a request for comment.

Guadagno, 57, has earned a reputation as a quiet road warrior over the last seven years, continuously touring the state to meet with businesses and local leaders in her charge, as the first lieutenant governor in state history, to improve New Jersey's economic viability and foster relationships with the business community. But she is likely to be viewed with skepticism as a loyalist to an unpopular, scandal-plagued governor and face claims from her opponents that electing her is tantamount to a third Christie term.

Guadagno (pronounced Gwa-dah-no) joins the gubernatorial race with Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Ocean County businessman Joseph Rullo and Nutley Commissioner Steve Rogers. Democratic contenders include Phil Murphy, Assemblyman John Wisniewski and Sen. Ray Lesniak.

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Around the time Guadagno filed her paperwork, Ciattarelli disclosed that he is being treated for cancer and will be "scaling back" his campaign. The cancer was found last fall in his throat, on his tonsils and in lymph nodes in his neck, he said.

Ciattarelli, 55, said he had been campaigning "eight days" a week since announcing his candidacy in October, but now will reduce public events to two to three per week. Meanwhile, campaign staff will raise money, and he will communicate with Republican leaders and voters by phone, email and social media. He expects to return to full strength sometime in February.

Ciattarelli did not name Guadagno during a news conference Thursday, but said he ran into "someone who works here in the State House that's thinking about getting" in the race and that he "just saw her in the hallways" before making his announcement. Ciattarelli said he told her, "You might be able to pick up some ground on me in the next month, but come February, we're both going to be out there pounding away."

Guadagno's entry into the governor's race comes as little surprise. Earlier this year she joined a new think tank, Building a Better New Jersey Together, as its honorary chairwoman. The organization, focused on smaller, more efficient government and improving New Jersey's middle class, hired Bill Stepien, who managed Gov. Chris Christie's two successful gubernatorial campaigns and is widely considered among the best political operatives in the country.

As a signal of her intent to run for governor, Guadagno began raising her public profile last year by appearing regularly on NJ 101.5-FM.

After many years operating in the shadow of Christie as he soaked up the attention paid to his own political future, Guadagno recently began publicly breaking with the governor on political and policy issues. She opposed his decision to broker a deal with Democrats to raise the gasoline tax in exchange for a minor reduction to the sales tax, and publicly lobbied against a related constitutional amendment, after the tax was passed, to protect the added revenue. She also disagreed with Christie's attempt late last year to pass a bill that would have given hundreds of judges and political appointees raises while allowing the governor to profit from a book. Guadagno also said last year that she would not vote for Donald Trump, whom Christie had endorsed and worked for after dropping his own presidential bid.

Guadagno lives in Monmouth Beach with her husband, Michael, an appellate court judge. They have three sons.