Trailblazer: Lt. Governor Tahesha Way

Gov. Phil Murphy picked Tahesha L. Way as New Jersey’s lieutenant governor in 2023 following the death of Sheila Oliver.  She had served as Secretary of State since 2018.  She departs both offices tomorrow at noon, and immediately pivots to being a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Congress for Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s seat in New Jersey’s 11th district.

A Murphy loyalist, Way became the state’s third lieutenant governor and the second Black woman to hold the post.  New Jersey’s lieutenant governors have also held cabinet posts since the position was created in advance of the 2009 gubernatorial election; Kim Guadagno had served as Secretary of State, and Oliver was the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

She was elected Passaic County Freeholder in 2006 but narrowly lost re-election two years later in an upset Republican year.  She had served as an attorney for the Passaic County Board of Social Services and as an Administrative Law Judge before joining Murphy’s cabinet in January 2018.

This was her third time on shortlists for lieutenant governor: Corzine had considered her as a running mate in 2009; Way was on Murphy’s 2017 shortlist.

Way serves as acting governor while Murphy was out of New Jersey.

She had served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.  During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Way was unexpectedly assigned to run primary and general elections conducted almost entirely through mail in a presidential election year.  More than 4.6 million vote-by-mail ballots were cast in November 2020.

She is married to Charles Way, a former New York Giants player and NFL executive.  Way graduated from Brown University and the University of Virginia Law School.