5 Reasons to Pay Attention to the NJ Governor's Race

Voters will choose between Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno,  Democrat Phil Murphy and five other candidates for governor in November. If they bother to vote, that is. Here's why WNYC thinks voters should show up at the polls:

1. The New Jersey governorship is the most powerful in the nation. New Jersey has no other statewide elected office. The attorney general is appointed by the governor. So is the lieutenant governor. And there's no financial comptroller as there are in New York and many other states. The New Jersey governor has line-item veto power over the budget, so anything or anyone can be cut out of the budget without legislative approval. The governor also appoints judges and members of powerful commissions and authorities.

2. New Jersey has big problems that only a governor can solve. Recent commuting problems relate both to the way NJ Transit is operated and the lack of state funding for infrastructure. The public employee pension debt is gobbling up other parts of the state budget, and will ultimately lead to higher taxes or state bankruptcy. Or both. The amount of money each school district receives from the state directly affects how many kids are in a classroom, whether there is arts and music education or whether there's air conditioning in school on the hot days of June and September.

3. New Jersey is home to some of the most polluted land and water in the country. The Garden State has more superfund sites than any other state, and the Trump administration is eliminating the majority of the federal Environmental Protection Agency's budget to clean up toxic waste or regulate the industry that produces it. The White House also does not believe anything should be done to curb climate change.  The states that have the strongest regulations will be best equipped to counter balance the federal retreat from environmental protection.

4. The federal government is withdrawing health-care subsidies and considering Medicaid cuts. More than 700,000 New Jerseyans have enrolled in coverage under the Affordable Care Act, cutting the rate of uninsured in New Jersey by more than 40 percent. The expansion of Medicaid, which offers coverage for lower income patients, has also increased the number of people able to get drug treatment. The next governor will have a strong role to play, influencing New Jersey's congressional delegation to protect the benefits gained while working to fix the flaws in the health care system.

5. The country is watching. With only two gubernatorial elections this November, political analysts are sure to attribute voter sentiment on President Donald Trump to the outcome of the election.