Not according to what I see posted. If he resigns after 30 days prior then his appointment can serve for the next two years.
Not true. Others explained it on this thread.
According to Fox news he is considering resigning. But his replacemanet could only serve until the end of Torches term.
What about this??? Torch announces that he considered resigning and not running, however, he has realized that this would be the cowards way. He has decided to run and pleads with the N.J. voters to reelect him and clear his name which has been besmerched by his evil republican opponent. Then he states that if he is elected, it will exonerate him completly and he will resign as soon as he is sworn in for his next term... The N.J. voters can vote for Torch knowing it will be a vote for someone that will be appointed by the democrat governor of N.J. Kinda like voting for a dead man but really voting for his wife.
If the Torch had another 4 years to serve on his term, and resigned, the governor could appoint a replacement to serve in his stead. At the next general election, candidates would run to fill the unexpired term of office. If the resignation took place within 30 days of the next general election, the appointee would fill the post until the next general election (which may be a year or two years... it has to be a statewide election.)
In this example, if the Torch still had 4 years to serve, and resigned today, the governor would appoint someone to serve until the end of this year, and the election would proceed as scheduled, with the new senator on the ballot, presumably. The winner of the election would serve the remaining 4 years. If he waited for two weeks before resigning, then the appointee would serve for a year or two before the position was up for election. THe winner of that election would then serve the remaining two years of the term.
The key factor here is that the Torch's term expires in January. The governor CANNOT appoint someone to serve into the next term... he doesn't have the authority. That is not an issue of NJ state law, it is a matter of the US Constitution... Senate terms cannot exceed 6 years. So there MUST be an election November 5th to determine the person who will serve the next term as NJ Senator. The only question is who the candidate will be.
Unconstitutional. A senate is for a term of six years, then that seat MUST be elected by the people.
If the torch resigns now, or later within a thirty day window of the general election, then the appointment would only be until Jan 2003. Since they missed the 51 day window, they cannot replace Torch with another candidate like Bradley or Laughtenburg. I believe Torch's name will remain on the ballot, kind of like Carnahan's was during 2000 election. If Torch should pull out a victory, then the Gov will appoint the vacancy until next general election.
But you better believe, if the Torch should pull out a victory, he will claim the seat.