“In Newark, we got guns off the street, attracted new businesses, created new jobs, and improved our public schools," he says in the ad, adding: "Washington ducks our problems. I won’t. Join me. The work starts now."

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From the Star-Ledger:

In a one-page notice, Chief Justice Stuart Rabner said Somerset Democratic Chairwoman Peg Schaffer’s request for the state’s highest court to take up her challenge is denied.

That leaves the Oct. 16 special Senate election on the calendar.

Schaffer, who has said she is not representing her county party, contended Gov. Chris Christie did not have the authority to set the date before November’s general election. She argued voters would become confused and the situation would create disenfranchisement for many residents.

Christie had reportedly called the election for October to avoid appearing on the ballot alongside the very popular Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who likely would have also caused a surge in Democratic turnout.

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The poll also finds Booker with a big lead in the Democratic primary:

Booker, a graduate of Stanford University, Yale Law School and a Rhodes Scholar, currently attracts 54% support in the Democratic primary competition. A Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of the race finds three other candidates far behind. Congressman Rush Holt picks up 11% of the vote, Congressman Frank Pallone draws eight percent (8%), and Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Sheila Oliver earns five percent (5%) of the vote. Three percent (3%) would prefer some other candidate and 18% are undecided.

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Politicker NJ reports:

The court cited NJSA 19:27-6, which provides that if a vacancy occurs in the the US Senate the election shall take place at the general election next succeeding unless the vacancy occurs within 70 days next preceding the primary election prior to the general election.

"Without question, the Governor was authorized to call a special election in this circumstance, where the vacancy occurred one day prior to the primary," the court's decision reads.

The challenge was brought by attorney Peg Schaffer, who also chairs a local county Democratic Committee. She and her law firm had argued that a special election would be too costly, and would suppress the vote.

Christie reportedly decided to call a special election to avoid appearing on the same ballot as Cory Booker, an early frontrunner in the Democratic primary, and to avoid a surge in Democratic turnout for the general election.

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In a potential general election match-up, Booker also leads Republican Steve Lonegan by a margin of 54 - 27 percent.

From the poll:

New Jersey voters have a 57 - 14 percent favorable opinion of Booker, while 25 percent don't know enough about him to form an opinion. The "don't know enough" measures for the other contenders are:

• Pallone - 68 percent;
• Holt - 67 percent;
• Lonegan - 62 percent.

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The 44-year-old mayor was introduced by former U.S. Bill Bradley, D-N.J. at the press conference, who said that Booker is "the right person for the right office at the right time."

"I believe the right kind of politics allows us to see something bigger than ourselves. It allows politicians to appeal to our better nature. And it allows citizens to have faith in their neighbors, in people, in humankind. The reason I am here today is because I believe Cory Booker embodies that kind of politics and is that kind of leader," said Bradley.

The party primary will take place on Aug. 13 and the special general election will be held Oct. 16.

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“Never make a good eulogy," Biden said. "You’ll be asked again and again and again.” He added that he also gave Strom Thurmond's eulogy. "I did his eulogy. This is a lot easier.”

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At a news conference where he laid out the process he intends to follow for filling the seat, Christie didn't answer the big question of whom he'll appoint to the seat in the meantime.

The move could bring criticism for putting more elections on the calendar, which can be expensive. The state Office of Legislative Services says each election costs the state about $12 million.

In this case, there would be two — an Aug. 13 primary and the special election on Oct. 16.

"The people must choose," Christie said.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a Democrat, announced months ago that he was planning to seek the seat.

Lautenberg, who turned 89 in January and was the oldest member of the Senate, at first bristled at Booker's candidacy. But the lawmaker, who was first elected to the Senate in 1982, announced in February that he would not seek re-election next year and would retire when his term expired at the beginning of 2015.

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Sweeney added that if Christie doesn't call it for this November, “We’ll take it to court.”

The Star-Ledger explains the dilemma:

Democrats believe state law requires the governor to hold the special election in November, but Republicans believe they can wait until next November, an argument supported by the research arm of the Legislature.

Christie is reportedly wary of the prospect of appearing on the same ballot as Cory Booker, who was planning to run when Lautenberg retired in 2014 anyway. Booker, who is very popular in the state, could potentially energize the Democratic base and cut into Christie's lead in his own race for reelection, set for November.

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It hit him almost instantly, when he called a press conference in February 1999 to announce that he wouldn’t run for reelection to the Senate the next year. It seemed sensible enough. Lautenberg had been in Washington for 18 years, he’d just turned 75, and his state’s popular Republican governor, Christine Todd Whitman, seemed to be gearing up to challenge him in 2000. Money was a factor too: Lautenberg, who made his fortune as a founder of ADP, had plenty of it but didn’t want to throw it into another expensive campaign. Nor did he want to spend the next 18 months working the phones to scare up cash. So he called it a career and set his sights on an active retirement. When the press conference was over, though, he confessed to a friend that he’d just made a big mistake.

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The New Jersey political world – and that most certainly includes Chris Christie and his inner circle – was well aware of Frank Lautenberg’s failing health long before he succumbed to viral pneumonia Monday morning at age 89. The senator’s rapid decline had fueled months of quiet and uncomfortably morbid conversations between and among members of both parties, who sought to balance basic good taste with the very practical questions that Lautenberg’s passing would raise.

Lautenberg announced in February that he wouldn’t seek another term in 2014. He had hoped to do this on his own terms, but Cory Booker’s poorly timed decision to throw his own name into the ’14 mix back in December created the impression that Lautenberg was surrendering in the face of a fight. After that February announcement, Lautenberg’s condition seemed to worsen and his prolonged absence from the Senate led members of both parties to conclude that he might resign or die before the end of next year.

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Lautenberg was New Jersey's longest-serving senator of all time, and the last World War II veteran serving in the Senate. He recently announced that he would not seek reelection when his term ended in 2014.

Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, will appoint someone to fill Lautenberg's seat until then.

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Carcano decided to tell her story publicly for the first time after reading here about the Peace Corps Equity Act, introduced by Sen. Frank Lautenberg last week, which would modify the current policy by extending Peace Corps health coverage to abortions in case of rape. Carcano, who is now working as a research assistant on HIV/AIDS, says she wasn't particularly educated about the politics of abortion. But then, in the months after her ordeal, the headlines were full of politicians talking about abortion, "legitimate rape" and doubting rape victims could even become pregnant. "I came back to my country and I felt like other Americans were against me or against my choices," she says.

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"The safety and security of Peace Corps Volunteers is our highest priority. Over the past few years, we’ve put in place a number of new, significant practices and safeguards to reduce the risks for Volunteers and ensure victims of crime receive compassionate and effective support.

The Peace Corps supports Senator Lautenberg’s bill and the President’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget, which extends the same rights and protections to female Peace Corps Volunteers as many of their federal colleagues by applying exceptions on abortion restrictions as outlined in the Hyde Amendment."

As Mary Kate Shannon waited to find out if she was pregnant after being raped for the second time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru, the healthcare coordinator told her her options were limited. "If I were pregnant, the Peace Corps could not pay for the abortion due to some kind of federal law," Shannon recalled in an interview with Salon. They would, however, pay for parenting classes.

"I felt betrayed," Shannon said. "I felt like it was a decision that was going to be made for me. I wasn't in a place financially where I felt like I could pay for it."

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The senator, a lawyer and reserve Air Force JAG officer himself, called for stripping Tsarnaev of his constitutional rights to due process even before the 19-year-old was captured Friday evening. "The accused perpetrators of these acts were not common criminals attempting to profit from a criminal enterprise," Graham said on Twitter on Friday. "Under the Law of War we can hold #Boston suspect as a potential enemy combatant not entitled to Miranda warnings or appointment of counsel."

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And that should clear the way for Booker. Sure, there’ll be a few other New Jersey Democrats who test the waters in the days and weeks ahead, but the smart money says that they – like Lautenberg – will eventually swallow their pride and step out of Booker’s way. And if they don’t, he’ll be heavily favored to beat them in the primary. Republicans will come up with a candidate too, but the Garden State GOP’s bench is thin and the state hasn’t sent a Republican to the Senate since (the very liberal) Clifford Case in 1972. Booker, with his broad popularity and limitless treasury, figures to be a reliable caretaker of that Democratic winning streak.

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"I am not announcing the end of anything. I am announcing the beginning of a two-year mission to pass new gun safety laws, protect children from toxic chemicals and create more opportunities for working families in New Jersey," Lautenberg told the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "While I may not be seeking re-election, there is plenty of work to do before the end of this term and I'm going to keep fighting as hard as ever for the people of New Jersey in the U.S. Senate."

At age 89, Lautenberg is the oldest member of the Senate and the last World War II veteran in the upper chamber. He was widely expected to retire at the end of his term, to create an opening for the ambitious Booker, but when Booker recently publicly floated a potential bid, Lautenberg seemed to find new vigor for his job and took pot shots at Booker.

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"Buckle your seat belts!" said Rivera before announcing, on his radio show on WABC-AM in New York, that he is "truly contemplating" a Senate bid.

He said he has spoken to some people in the New Jersey GOP about a run, but he didn't say what they told him.

Rivera got a mixed response when he asked his 30,000 Twitter followers how they feel about him challenging either Sen. Frank Lautenberg or Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

At 89, Lautenberg is the oldest sitting U.S. senator. The Democrat hasn't said if he will seek re-election.

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Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., who introduced a House companion to the bill, said in a statement that the magazines are "the common thread in every major mass shooting in recent history and taking them off the market can have a major impact on saving lives in America."

Lautenberg said in a statement:

 It is clearer than ever that there is no place in our communities for military-style supersized magazines like those used inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Aurora, and in Tucson, and I will keep working to reinstate the ban on them. President Obama's bold plan to address gun violence included my common-sense proposal to ban high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds, and we will get to work in Congress to pass this bill and other reasonable reforms that protect children and families.

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Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 88, also a Democrat, is the current seat-holder, and so far has not announced his plans for 2014. Lautenberg has a 43/36 approval rating, according to PPP, and would have a big win in a hypothetical race against Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

But according to the poll, only 36 percent of Democratic primary voters in the state say he should run again, and 45 percent say he should retire. From PPP:

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