Why christie special election

That, in turn, could make him look like a more formidable presidential candidate in should he choose to run. The governor argued that a special election is the fairest choice to quickly fill the open seat.

The primary will be held on Tuesday, Aug. The governor was openly defiant that such a strategy was the reason for his decision, saying he followed the letter of the law to let the people pick, and political calculations played no role in his timetable. The option was the least preferable for Senate Republicans, who were not only looking forward to having an extra vote in the Senate for an extended period but also hoped they could make this contest competitive.

The choice of an October special is likely to placate no one on either side of the aisle, and enrage conservatives even more than Democrats — causing him headaches in a potential GOP primary.

Republicans made no secret they preferred a special election, allowing a Republican to take the Democrat-held seat for over a year and a half, and allowing a strong GOP candidate, preferably one appointed by Christie, to build up a moderate voting record and robust campaign.

With Christie on the ballot this November, Republicans at the state level especially hoped for down-ballot help in state legislative races. Democrats, however, hoped for a November contest for exactly the opposite reason. Democrats will be all too eager to make that point in his re-election contest, where Christie has campaigned on cutting spending as governor. Kim Guadagno, state Sen. The younger Kean ran for the U. Robert Menendez. There is pressure on Christie to appoint a Republican who can get a head start on the special election.

Democrats favored a November special election to help boost turnout on behalf of state Sen. Barbara Buono, who is down about 30 percentage points in the polls to Christie. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, has already announced his intention to run for the Senate in Frank Pallone, D-N. It is unclear if both will run in the special election. The last Republican to be elected to the Senate from New Jersey was Clifford Case in , and Democrats are confident they can hold on to Lautenberg's seat.

Democrats had a voting advantage in the Senate before Lautenberg's death. Follow ccamia on Twitter. The governor was believed to have two other options for filling the seat, both of which would have been slower to install an elected senator.

Each was also seen as presenting pitfalls to Christie personally. Christie could have simply appointed a senator to hold the seat until it came up for election on schedule, in November Doing so, however, would have risked charges of delay from Democrats and damage to his national standing — a matter of importance for a potential presidential candidate.

Christie could also have added the election for Lautenberg's seat to the list of November contests, when he will stand for re-election as governor. But that arrangement would have had him running in an election when turnout among Democrats could surge in support of the popular mayor of Newark, Cory Booker , who is positioned to run for Lautenberg's seat.

The added Democrats could have endangered the popular Christie's chances of re-election.