Jun 5, 2013 4 min read

No doubt, those most saddened by the death of Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey were the venerable lawmaker’s friends and family. Next in line, perhaps, was Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

With Lautenberg’s passing, it fell to Christie to select an interim replacement for the Senate seat, and to say that he had no chance to make a decision that would please everyone would have been quite an understatement.

Given wide latitude under state law, Christie, who faces a re-election vote in November, was within his rights to select a Republican to serve out Lautenberg’s term, which runs through early January 2015. That, no doubt, would have poisoned the well with Garden State Democrats, with whom Christie has had fairly good relations, and from whom he hopes to attract votes later this year. In deference to Lautenberg’s party affiliation, Christie could have named a Democrat to finish the term, but one can only imagine how well that would sit with members of his own party, particularly those on the Republican right fringe. It’s those “true believer” types who carry a lot of weight in the early presidential primaries, and, oh, by the way, you might have heard that Christie is considering a run for president in 2016. Would the GOP faithful forget such political treason over the next couple of years? Well, they say elephants never forget.

Predictably, Christie’s first decision on the matter did not satisfy either Democrats or Republicans. The governor announced Tuesday a special election to fill the remainder of Lautenberg’s term, with a primary Aug. 31 and a general election about six weeks later.

Said Christie, “The people need to have a voice and choice.”

Fair enough, but why couldn’t they have that choice on the same day that Christie is running for re-election? By setting up the special votes, Christie is costing his state about $12 million, and Democrats who are decrying what they consider to be unnecessary spending are pretty sure that Christie is doing it so he doesn’t have a prominent Democrat on the same ballot, bringing more Democratic voters to the polls in November. And they’re almost certainly correct.

Prominent Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who is not just known statewide but across the country, already had expressed his interest in running next year for the seat of Lautenberg, who had announced that he did not intend to seek re-election.

“It’s as if he gave the residents of this state the finger,” Democratic state Sen. Richard Codey told the Associated Press in reaction to the governor’s move. “Instead of holding an expensive special election that tries to protect the governor’s political vulnerabilities, the voters should have the opportunity to have their say in the next regular election in November.”

Republicans aren’t much happier with Christie. They, of course, wanted the governor to appoint a rock-ribbed Republican to serve out all of Lautenberg’s term, the better for such a person to accrue the aura of incumbency before a regular election in November 2014.

We agree with Christie’s move to allow the people of New Jersey to select an interim successor to Lautenberg, but not with his purely political decision to conduct an expensive special election.

But the governor’s trip through this political minefield isn’t over. In a decision that could come as early as today, he still must appoint someone to serve in the Senate until after the special vote. It would be highly unlikely for Christie to choose a Democrat. The real question is whether he will appoint a placeholder, such as highly respected former Republican Gov. Tom Kean Sr., or pick someone with an interest in running for their own term in the office.

Whatever the case, we can be fairly sure that someone – probably many someones – will not be happy with the governor.