A look back at the 2017 governor's race in political cartoons

By Star-Ledger Staff

So now do you know who was running for governor? Drew Sheneman, longtime political cartoonist for The Star-Ledger, didn't believe New Jersey voters would come around to learn who the candidates were, let alone vote.

Sheneman's scornful cartoons and columns were aimed as much at New Jerseyans, whom historically have been apathetic about local elections, as they were at the candidates for their perceived slippery positions on the issues. A certain outgoing governor makes cameos in a few drawings, as well as the governor before him. Can you say baggage?

Take a look at this year's series of Sheneman gubernatorial race 'toons, then tell us if he was too critical or on the mark.

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'Kim Guadagno is running for governor' (Jan. 23, 2017 )

Here are some fun facts about Kim Guadagno you may not know:

1. She is our Lt. Governor and has been for the past seven years

2. Up until recently she has publicly supported everything Chris Christie has said and done over the course of his failed administration.

3. She would prefer you didn't bring up No.2

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'Tale of the Tape: Murphy vs. Corzine' (May 8, 2017 )

According to recent polls, most people have no Earthly clue who in the hell Phil Murphy is. Of those that do know who he is, he is closely associated with former governor and current financial pariah Jon Corzine…

I worked at The Star-Ledger for a long time and that newsroom was filled with more sketchy characters than the cantina in Star Wars. Because we shared a break room microwave, I'm forever linked to my co-workers? That's not fair, mostly for my co-workers.

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'All hail governor Whatsisface' (May 20, 2017)

The following two statements are true:

1. We will soon have a new governor.

2. You will most likely have no idea who it is.

It is, of course, very early in the statewide electoral process and voters have been a little preoccupied watching the republic crumble from the top down.

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'He ain't heavy, he's my governor' (June 11, 2017)

Maybe my favorite part of all this is watching Gov. Christie pretend that he's not upset at being considered toxic. The other day somebody asked him if he would be hitting the campaign trail for the GOP nominee. He responded by saying that he's too cool and busy to do the thing they will definitely not be asking him to do.

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'Phil Murphy and the ghosts of governors past' (June 12, 2017)

Like many other rich guys, Phil Murphy made his fortune working for Goldman Sachs, a plucky little investment firm located in lower Manhattan specializing in capitalizing on other people's misery. Murphy's rich guy-ness, and the company for which he worked, has drawn some comparisons to an old friend of ours — former governor and guy who misplaced a billion dollars of someone else's money — Jon Corzine.

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'Kim Guadagno's ball and chain' (June 18, 2017)

There will be the mandatory distancing of herself from the governor and his policies, but it won't work. It's hard to distance yourself from someone you voluntarily supported for eight years.

Your entire political record is attached to the man. His legacy, or lack thereof, is your legacy. Nobody is accusing Guadagno of the gross political thuggery of the governor and his select group of underlings — but they don't have too.

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'News flash: There's a governor's race' (Aug. 27, 2017)

The election is a few short months away and nobody knows who the candidates are. Maybe were all just a little pre-occupied with the fall of the republic and the ever increasing reality that a D-list reality TV star has the power, and occasionally the temperament, to spark a nuclear conflagration that we would all find out about on Twitter.

It's regrettable, but understandable. Statewide politics tends to take a backseat to the unrelenting fear of a nuclear winter.

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'Christie goes along for the ride' (Sept. 17, 2017)

His approval rating hovers around 17 percent. Other things with a 17 percent  approval rating include stubbing your pinky toe and lutefisk. Kim Guadagno had the misfortune of jumping on the SS Christie as lieutenant governor before it sank of self-inflicted icebergs and now she's having trouble swimming away from the wreckage.

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'Is it a governor's race if nobody knows you're running?' (Oct. 2, 2017)

You'd be forgiven for not knowing about the election because most of the folks in power decided it's already over and consequentially haven'y made a big deal about the whole thing.

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'Phil Murphy: Man of Mystery' (Oct. 8, 2017)

The spinelessness with which candidate Murphy has handled this issue (property tax cap) is worrisome. At least wait until you're elected to start selling us out to the unions.

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'The governor's race has begun' (Oct. 15, 2017)

The most savage moment of this past week's debate that you didn't watch came after Phil Murphy was done promising stuff he'll never be able to afford when Lt. Governor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno twisted logic and decency into knots in order to accuse her opponent of being complicit in the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal.

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'Kim Guadagno loudly proclaims: I am not Chris Christie' (Oct. 22, 2017)

Candidate Guadagno implored voters to forget her years of devoted service to New Jersey's least favorite governor in the history of governors and instead focus on her record…

It was always going to be an uphill climb for Guadagno. Christie casts a large and perilous shadow few have been able to escape from, including Christie.

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'Gubernatorial deja vu all over again' (Oct. 29, 2017)

Goldman Sachs is not just a giant investment bank responsible in part for the largest financial calamity of the past 90 years, it's also a training program for New Jersey governors.

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'Guadagno's gone full Trump' (Nov. 5, 2017)

One wonders what drove candidate Guadagno towards a Trump-based strategy in a state where Trump did so poorly and is reviled nearly as widely as her current boss. Is it the desperation of looking up at a double digit gap in the polls with a few days left in the race? Is it an effort to curry favor with the current xenophobe positive administration in the hopes of landing a post-election day gig?

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