Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno announced her running mate today as she runs to replace Gov. Chris Christie as the leader of New Jersey.

The Republican candidate presented Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo during an announcement in West New York Thursday.

Rendo, who was born in Cuba, is an attorney and former chair of Sen. Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign in New Jersey. He says that he will turn to those fundraising roots to help Guadagno win the governor’s office.

“I think we will be reaching out to Marco,” he said. “We helped him here in New Jersey.”

Guadagno is campaigning on cutting property taxes and auditing Trenton. The former Monmouth County sheriff served as lieutenant governor for eight years. She says that her public image was often dominated by Christie.

Christie did not attend Thursday’s announcement. Guadagno says that she has been working to distance herself from the governor and says that she believes voters can leave him behind.

“I don't think people care in November who the governor is or was or who the president is,” Guadagno said. “I think they're going to vote their pocketbooks. I’m going to call on them to vote their pocketbooks.”

Guadagno also slammed Democratic opponent Phil Murphy’s policy proposals. She says that they would add up to $75 billion in new government spending. She also criticized his choice of Assemblywoman Shelia Oliver as his running mate.

“No one understand more than [Mayor Rendo] about working from the ground up,” she says. “I think a legislator is a horrible pick for New Jersey.”

Assemblywoman Oliver released a statement that said in part that New Jersey “had had enough of Christie-Guadagno and eight years is enough.”