New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he wants to hold a special election in October to fill the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Frank Lautenberg's death on Monday.
He says he doesn't plan to appoint someone to fill the seat in the meantime.
The approach would relieve the Republican governor of having to make a treacherous decision about whom to appoint to serve in a seat previously held by a Democrat.
Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker announced months ago that he intended to run for the seat in 2014.
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"The issues facing the Senate are too important and too vital not to have an elected representative," Christie, a Republican, said at a news conference in Trenton.
New Jersey state law conflicted on the timing of a special election to fill a vacancy. One section of New Jersey law said the special election should be held at the next general election, which is on Nov. 5 — the same day as the governor's election.
Spectulation was rife that Christie did not want to stand in the same election in which Booker was running for the Senate seat. Booker is likely to draw more votes — and more Democrats — to the polls in the overwhelmingly Democratic state.
Another reading of the law said the special election would be held in November 2014, when the Senate seat is on the ballot anyway for a new term.