New Jersey Election Day In October?

Written by by Keith Brown

Wednesday is an election day in New Jersey.

Yes, Wednesday. In October.

The Oct. 16 polling is the first ever for the state and was prompted by the death of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg and forwarded by Gov. Chris Christie's decision to hold a special primary and general election solely for the U.S. Senate seat, rather than waiting until the November general election when Christie will stand for re-election.

The two elections are estimated to cost about $25 million.

Wednesday's election pits Democratic Newark Mayor Cory Booker against Tea Party Republican Steve Lonegan. Booker holds a comfortable lead over Lonegan, according to the most recent polls, including a Rutgers-Eagleton poll that put the Newark mayor 22 points up as of Monday.

But there are a host of others vying for the seat you may have not known about. The other six competing for votes are:

• Stuart David Meissner, running under the banner of Alimony Reform Now
• Antonio Nice Sabas, running under the banner of Freedom of Choice
• Robert DePasquale, running under the banner of Jobs For Americans
• Eugene Martin LaVergne, of the D-R Party
• Pablo Olivera, running under the banner of Unity is Strength
• Edward C. Stackhouse Jr., running under the banner of Ed The Barber