New Jersey has never before elected a Lieutenant Governor. However, in 2005, the voters amended the State Constitution to create that office, effective with the 2009 election.
At the November election, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor will be elected as a team. There is no separate popular vote for Lieutenant Governor.
Candidates for Lieutenant Governor are chosen by candidates who have qualified to appear on the November ballot for Governor. Gubernatorial candidates must choose a Lieutenant Governor running mate no later than 30 days after the June 2 primary. This year, it appears that the leading gubernatorial candidates are not planning to say whom they will choose until after the primary. The model seems to be the presidential election nomination process, in which Democratic and Republican candidates for president make the de facto choice of the party’s choice for vice-president, but only after that presidential candidate is assured of receiving the party’s presidential nomination. No other state chooses Lieutenant Governor nominees this way.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the state of Michigan has something similar to this. The DEM/GOP nominees are selected at the August primary, and then at the state conventions that occur at the end of the month, the convention confirms a Lieutenant Governor candidate (I believe they are selected by the Gov. nominee). Usually, Lieutenant Gov. selections are made after the primary. Then the two run as a ticket; there is no separate election.
It’s similar but not the same thing, because in Michigan it is the parties that choose the Lieutenant Governor candidate (which is true of some other states as well), but in New Jersey the gubernatorial candidate has sole discretion to choose someone; the party doesn’t choose.
Actually, Iowa uses this method. Technically the lt. gov nominees are chosen by party conventions, but in practice that’s a rubber stamp.
Iowa’s system switched in 1990 after a 1988 amendment. Before that it was separate primary and general elections for the two offices. In the last election under the old system, 1986, we elected a split ticket of R gov and D lt. gov.
In the first election under the new system, the incumbent lt. gov initially filed for governor, then quit and joined a ticket with the eventual Democratic nominee. The Republican incumbent governor won the general election with a new lt. gov.
After that first election it became practice to name the running mate post-primary, until 2006. Republican Jim Nussle got his primary rival out of the race by making him the running mate, and Democrat Chet Culver did the same with another rival. One other Democrat chose a running mate in response, but the two other Dems on the ballot did not.
All of this is legally informal, as the lt. gov. candidates do not appear on the primary ballot.