Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has scheduled an Oct. 16 special election to replace Frank R. Lautenberg, the Democratic senator who died on Monday. Mr. Christie will appoint a replacement for Mr. Lautenberg in the interim, but he has yet to announce his pick. His choice of timing for the special election, however, may indicate that he expects the Republican candidates to be weak. [cont.]
Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight (NYT)