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I hate to say it, but to be fair to the voters, Christie should select a Democrat.

No. We are not a parliamentary system. We cannot assume that someone voting for a senator who happens to be a Dem or a Rep needs the successor to be from the same party, or even the same ideology. Christie should pick the best human for the job.

No. We are not a parliamentary system. We cannot assume that someone voting for a senator who happens to be a Dem or a Rep needs the successor to be from the same party, or even the same ideology.

Maybe not, but do you honestly think the voters of NJ, if given the opportunity to pick the replacement would now pick a Republican?

This is one reason I prefer the system Kansas has. Each Precinct in each county elects one male and one female of each party to be a precinct person. If an elected office opens up in the middle of a term, the elected precinct persons of the party who previously held that office select the replacement. There's no one individual who makes the choice (thus, not much likelihood of "buying" the position), the people get to keep the party they previously chose, and with so many individuals involved from different areas, you are more likely to get a selection that best reflects the "political flavor" of the voting public.