Christie Prepares to Name Senator as Candidates Line Up
As New Jersey Governor Chris Christie prepared to name an interim replacement for the late U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, politicians began lining up to fill the remainder of his term.
U.S. Representative Rush Holt, a nuclear physicist and five-time winner of the TV game show “Jeopardy!,” became the first Democrat to declare a plan to run to finish Lautenberg’s term. Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who had been preparing a bid before the senator’s death on June 3, is collecting signatures and will “make an official announcement at an appropriate date,” Kevin Griffis, a spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Christie, a 50-year-old Republican seeking a second term in November, set an Oct. 16 special election for the seat, with an Aug. 14 primary. He has said he would name an interim replacement by next week. He scheduled a 1:30 p.m. press conference in Trenton, without disclosing a topic. Several Republicans at the Statehouse said they expect him to announce his appointee.
Holt, in a statement on his website, asked for signatures by June 10 to qualify for the ballot. First elected to Congress in 1998, Holt was born in West Virginia and lives in Hopewell Township. His father was one of the youngest people ever elected to the U.S. Senate, at 29, while his mother served as secretary of state of West Virginia and was the first woman to hold that position, according to his website.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-06-06/u-s-representative-rush-holt-announces-plans-to-run-for-senate.html
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