Morning News Digest: Tuesday, June 04, 2013
By Matthew Arco
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg has died
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg died this morning at the age of 89, his office confirmed this morning.
Lautenberg, the oldest member of the Senate, died of viral pneumonia at 4:02 a.m. (Isherwood/PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/66012/us-sen-frank-lautenberg-has-died
Flags at half-staff Wednesday for Lautenberg
TRENTON – Gov. Chris Christie ordered flags at half-staff Wednesday in honor of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died Monday. (PolitikerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/66065/flags-half-staff-wednesday-lautenberg
Sweeney: Special election for Lautenberg’s seat should be this November
TRENTON – The state’s top Senate lawmaker says legislation governing filling vacancies makes it “crystal clear” a special election should be held in November to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
Senate President Steve Sweeney, (D-3), agrees there is “some confusion” in state statutes about whether the governor can call for a special election in November to fill the seat or if it can be held off until next year. (Arco/PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/66054/sweeney-special-election-lautenbergs-seat-should-be-november
The names of potential successors to Senator Lautenberg
While conflicting, state statutes give Gov. Chris Christie potent arguments to make to schedule the statewide election for U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) seat on a date other than this year’s November gubernatorial election.
Tasked to succeed Senator Lautenberg, the governor’s choice can remain in the seat until a special election of the governor’s choosing, potentially as late as November of 2014, according to one reading of state law. (Isherwood & Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/66042/names-potential-successors-senator-lautenberg
Booker: ‘The people lost a true champion’
Newark Mayor Cory Booker extended his condolences to U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and praised the Senator’s service. (PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/66040/booker-people-lost-true-champion
New Jersey Sen. Lautenberg Dead at 89
The next time a flight attendant reminds you there’s no smoking or you witness a teenager getting carded at a liquor store, think of Frank Lautenberg.
The liberal Democratic senator from New Jersey left his mark on the everyday lives of millions of Americans, whether they know it or not. In the 1980s, he was a driving force behind the laws that banned smoking on most U.S. flights and made 21 the drinking age in all 50 states. (Delli Santi/AP)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/jersey-sen-lautenberg-dead-age-89-19312246#.Ua0-1pVkJqF
Christie’s options in filling Lautenberg’s seat
The death of sitting U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg gives Governor Christie the opportunity to pick his immediate replacement.
Lautenberg, an 89-year-old Democrat, died overnight. Christie, a Republican, has the authority under state and federal law to select someone to temporarily fill the vacancy pending a statewide election, according to a new opinion prepared by the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services, the non-partisan research arm of the state Legislature. (Reitmeyer/The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/Christie_has_options_in_filling_Lautenbergs_seat.html
Christie’s dilemma: Placeholder or longterm solution to Lautenberg seat?
Gov. Chris Christie faces a dilemma that only Thomas Kean Sr. and Jon Corzine have faced in New Jersey since 1982: appointing a temporary fill-in for a U.S. Senate seat.
And the question is: Should he go the Kean route and appoint a placeholder until the next regularly scheduled Senate election (there’s actually some legal confusion about whether an election would be held in Nov. 2013 or in Nov. 2014) or should Christie opt for the Corzine strategy and appoint a strong candidate that can run as a favorite on the same ticket as him in November? (McCrone/Philly.com)
A somber Christie eulogizes his political nemesis
TRENTON — Gov. Christie scrapped his prepared remarks for his morning address at the Governor’s Conference on Women to eulogize, in somber tones and without notes, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who had been his political nemesis.
Christie told the crowd about the death of Lautenberg, 89, just one hour after the news broke, eliciting gasps from many women in the crowd who were apparently unaware. (Katz/Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/christie_chronicles/Without-notes-.html
Senator’s Death Sparks Partisan Fight
TRENTON, N.J.—The death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg on Monday triggered a dispute between Republicans and Democrats over the process for filling the New Jersey Democrat’s seat and created unforeseen considerations for GOP Gov. Chris Christie’s bid for re-election this year.
Mr. Lautenberg’s death at age 89, which his office said was due to complications from viral pneumonia, raised questions about the timing of an election, while presenting a setback for Democrats in Washington. (Haddon & O’Connor/Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324423904578523730909480670.html?mod=wsj_share_tweet
Chris Christie has broad sway over Frank Lautenberg succession
Within hours of Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s passing, Democrats, Republicans and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s office were poring over the state’s labyrinthian election laws to figure out what comes next.
The short answer? No one agrees.
Despite the fact that politicians on both sides of the aisle have been preparing for the possibility of Lautenberg passing away before his term ended in 2014, the issue is very much unresolved. (Haberman & Gibson/POLITICO)
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/frank-lautenberg-seat-chris-christie-92141.html?hp=t2_3
Corzine breaks silence to eulogize Lautenberg
Jon Corzine has kept a low profile since facing allegations that his mismanagement expedited the downfall of the commodities brokerage MF Global. But the embattled former governor broke his silence today to eulogize his friend and Senate colleague U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
“Senator Lautenberg’s life was the life of accomplishments of service and humanity and I know that the people of New Jersey will miss his very strong advocacy and a lot of us will miss him as a very strong friend,” Corzine said in a phone interview with The Star-Ledger this afternoon. (Portnoy/Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/corzine_breaks_silence_to_eulo.html#incart_river
Funeral services for Lautenberg to be held Wednesday in Manhattan
Funeral services will be held Wednesday morning at the Park Avenue Synogogue in Manhattan for U. S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, who died today at age 89.
A death notice for Lautenberg (D-N.J.), which was issued by Riverside Memorial Chapel, did not say where the burial would take place. (Rundquist/Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/06/funeral_services_set_in_ny_wed.html#incart_river
Death of Senator Places Christie in Difficult Spot
The death of Frank R. Lautenberg on Monday has left Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey with the kind of opportunity that politicians usually covet: the chance to give away a seat in the United States Senate. But the decision is fraught with pitfalls, none bigger than having to choose between improving his party’s fortunes in Washington and furthering his own political ambitions at home.
Mr. Christie, a Republican, is up for re-election in November and hoping to roll up a huge victory margin, which he could then use to accelerate his drive to present himself as a presidential candidate with broad appeal even in a blue state. (NY Times)
Lautenberg’s death changes Senate race for Booker
Newark Mayor Cory Booker may have relished the idea of running for Frank Lautenberg’s seat in 2014, but now that the liberal lion is dead, the race has changed big time.
It is unclear whether Gov. Chris Christie will appoint a Republican to serve out the remaining 17 months of Lautenberg’s term thus giving the appointee a chance to become more well known and formidable or whether he will call a special election this year throwing Jersey politics into a tizzy. (Giambusso/Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2013/06/lautenbergs_death_means_tough.html#incart_river
Christie, Buono look for enthusiastic wins in NJ today
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey voters will make it official by nominating the two major party candidates for governor.
But since Republican Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic state Sen. Barbara Buono face only token opposition in their respective primaries on Tuesday, both campaigns hope their victory-night celebrations will infuse their campaigns with excitement that has been lacking. (AP)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/politics/Christie_Buono_look_for_enthusiastic_wins_in_NJ_today.html
Primaries around N.J. unlikely to draw many
Primary elections in New Jersey will be held Tuesday, cakewalks for Gov. Christie and many other incumbents, but don’t feel too embarrassed if you are a voter and didn’t know.
Despite a civic duty, the vast majority of registered voters normally don’t bother to show up for the primaries, though they may be the only time they have a choice when districts are heavily controlled by one party. (Hefler/Inquirer)
From the Back Room
October election changes political dynamic of U.S. Senate race
Republicans and Democrats spent much of the day contemplating life after U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who passed away this morning of pneumonia.
Both sides were attempting to interpret the myriad laws governing the secession to determine who would take Lautenberg’s p[lace in the upper chamber and perhaps more importantly, when. (Isherwood/PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/october-election-changes-political-dynamic-us-senate-race
Florio on Lautenberg: One man made a difference
Former Gov. Jim Florio today expressed his admiration for U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died early this morning of pneumonia.
Florio, who worked closely with Lautenberg during the former governor’s term, said the Senator is a great example of how one man can make a difference. (Isherwood/PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/florio-lautenberg-one-man-made-difference
The political context of the Senator’s death
The political world is mourning the loss today of a New Jersey icon, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who died at the age of 89.
The fact that it is an election year has the same people eager to know what will happen to the seat that Senator Lautenberg held. (PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/political-context-senators-death
Opinion
Stile: No easy choices to replace Lautenberg for an ambitious Christie
Governor Christie, who has been sitting comfortably on top of New Jersey’s political world for the past three years, is in a tight spot.
The death of Democratic U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg on Monday has left him with two decisions that could carry both short- and long-term implications for his own political future. (Stile/The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/national/Stile_No_easy_choices_for_an_ambitious_Christie.html
Lautenberg: The last ‘swamp dog’
(CNN) — I turned 18 years old a week before Election Day in 1982 and was excited to exercise my newly earned right to vote. The first ballot I ever cast was for United States Senate. The race pitted a popular veteran Congresswoman against a political neophyte businessman who was the decided underdog. The underdog won. His name was Frank Lautenberg. (Murray)
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/opinion/murray-lautenberg/index.html
