Democrat Rep. Rush Holt announced Thursday that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Frank R. Lautenberg, who died earlier this week.
By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Democrat Rep. Rush Holt announced Thursday that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by the late Frank R. Lautenberg, who died earlier this week.
Mr. Holt, writing in an email to supporters, called himself “the best candidate to continue the passionate advocacy for progressive values that Senator Lautenberg exemplified.”
He urged them to collect signatures in time so that his name could be placed on the ballot for the special primary Aug.13.
He must get at least 1,000 signatures of qualified Democrat voters by Monday’s deadline. The winner of the primary then would run in a special election Oct.16, one day after Mr. Holt’s 65th birthday. Other possible Democrat contenders for the Senate seat include Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
”As you know, I have never shied away from a tough political fight, and I have never wavered in my commitment to advancing progressive priorities,” said Mr. Holt.
Mr. Holt was elected in 1998 to represent the 12th Congressional District that includes Princeton. He was re-elected last year to his eighth term in Congress.
Sen. Lautenberg, 89, died Monday of pneumonia. His death touched off intense speculation on whom his replacement would be.
On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie announced there would be a special election to chose someone to fill out the rest of Mr. Lautenberg’s term, which runs through 2014. On Thursday, the governor said he had selected New Jersey Attorney General Jeff Chiesa to fill the Senate seat effective Monday.
”During the last few days as I’ve gotten to deliberate on this decision, it became clear to me that Attorney General Chiesa would be the best person to represent the people of the state of New Jersey in the United States Senate,” the governor said at a news conference in Trenton.