TRENTON – State political experts said Tuesday Gov. Chris Christie made a politically shrewd move by deciding to hold a special election for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Frank Lautenberg, who died on Monday.
“From the governor’s perspective, he gets a chance to avoid impacting the (general) election,” said Ben Dworkin, a political science professor at Rider University. “It is fortuitous this option was available.”
Dworkin added that the Democratic Party will be in for a “huge and exhaustive” fight, given that there will be a special election in October and then they will have to “gear up” for the general election just three weeks later, “which is not easy to do.”
Still, Dworkin said, whoever Christie selects for the seat cannot help but look like a proxy, which Christie acknowledged Tuesday is a possibility.
“Anything controversial that will be voted on, it’ll be assumed that is how Christie would vote,” he said.
Montclair State University Professor Brigid Harrison said the governor chose the most “politically expedient” move since he avoids having to pick someone who could potentially rile some in the national Republican Party. By going this route, Harrison said Christie avoids a political firestorm.
That doesn’t mean the governor won’t be immune from criticism, given the high price tag of holding a special election, which state Democrats quickly made an issue of following Christie’s announcement.
But Harrison said it’s the governor’s prerogative to decide which route to go, as the Constitution gives him that ability.
Pollster Patrick Murray of Monmouth University also said Christie made a smart move.
“Every possible option had its mix of risk and benefits,” he said. “This decision had the least risk and most benefit.”
Murray added Christie risked facing a court challenge by the Democrats if he decided to appoint someone to fill the whole unexpired term. Previous Supreme Court decisions have tended to err on the side of caution, giving residents as many voting options as possible.
By holding a special election, Murray said, Christie stands a good chance of increasing his victory margin in the general election, because fewer Democrats are likely to come out if they had already come out to vote three weeks earlier.
