Gov. Chris Christie (R) has appointed state Attorney General Jeff Chiesa to fill New Jersey's open U.S. Senate seat, he said at a news conference in Trenton Thursday afternoon.

Christie said that while he made the final decision this week, he had been considering his options for the Senate for awhile.
“I’ve been thinking about it on and off for a period of time," Christie said. "I started thinking about it in earnest on Monday morning when I got the news of Senator Lautenberg’s death.”

Chiesa, a Republican, would will not be a candidate in the primary or general election, said Christie.

"This is an incredible honor for my family and I," Chiesa said, noting he will use his "best judgment" in the Senate.

The governor's appointment comes as New Jersey politicians scramble to enter a special election for the seat, left vacant after the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) on Monday. Christie set an Aug. 13 primary and Oct. 16 general election to find a senator to finish Lautenberg's term, which expires in January 2015. Candidates have until 4 p.m. on June 10 to file with the state Division of Elections to run in the primary.

On the Democratic side, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Rep. Rush Holt and Rep. Frank Pallone have indicated that they will enter the August primary; state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) is considered a potential candidate as well. On the Republican side, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan, the state director of Americans for Prosperity, is the only announced candidate. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos are potential Republican candidates.

Christie found himself under fire for his decision to call for the August and October special elections, which will cost the state a total of $24 million. Conflicts in state law left it unclear whether Christie needed to call the election for November 2013 or November 2014. Christie said that he made the decision in order to give New Jersey residents "a choice and a voice" in picking Lautenberg's replacement.

If Christie called the election for November, when the governor's seat is up for grabs, it left open the possibility of him and Booker appearing on the same ballot. While Christie leads Democratic gubernatorial nominee Barbara Buono by 30 points in recent polls, the popular Booker's presence on the ballot could have helped Buono. Booker on the November ballot also could have helped Democratic candidates for the state Legislature, potentially hurting Christie's goal to flip the Legislature to GOP-control. Christie has said politics did not play a role in his decision.

Source: The Huffington Post  Posted: 06/06/2013 1:46 pm EDT