By Bill Pascoe | Cross-Posted from In the Right

“The responsibility of making an appointment to fill a seat in the United States Senate is one of the most serious things any Governor is called upon to do. It requires a Governor to make a judgment in lieu of and on behalf of his state’s voters, and his decision rightly will become part of his own record in office.

“Consequently, I have chosen to rescind my earlier order setting a special primary election for August 13, and a special election for October 16. Upon further reflection, it’s become clear to me that holding a primary election in the middle of August, when many New Jerseyans are vacationing at the Shore, isn’t the right thing to do. Neither is holding a special general election on a Wednesday in the middle of October, three weeks before an already-scheduled statewide general election. There’s just no way I can justify spending $24 million of the taxpayers’ money on this, when a cost-free option is so readily available.

“And yes, the ‘further reflection’ I alluded to a moment ago includes consideration of the likely actions of New Jersey Democrats — a particularly litigious bunch (after all, with no disrespect intended, it was only because of a lawsuit brought by former Sen. Robert Torricelli that Frank Lautenberg was able to return to the U.S. Senate) — who are likely to have been planning to sue me to overturn my earlier decision. Their argument would have centered on the notion of ‘voter choice,’ and they would have argued that, the clear wording of the statutes notwithstanding, the earlier date for the special general election would have had the effect of ‘disenfranchising’ voters. And, given the history of its jurisprudence in this area of law — including the aforementioned suit brought by Mr. Torricelli — the New Jersey Supreme Court would likely have ruled in their favor, anyway.

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