First Read: “What’s interesting about the likely quick special election is that it doesn’t preclude the 2014 race — that is, you’ll have a special Senate election this year and then another race for the seat in 2014. But this also means that Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who’s widely assumed to jump into this special election, would probably face a primary fight now from Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).Why? Well, Pallone can run for the Senate seat in 2013 without risking his House seat. So it’s a free shot for the Democratic congressman.”

“Of course, the state party could decide against holding a party primary and choose the nominee at a convention of sorts. There will be national pressure on New Jersey Democrats to rally around Booker, whether Pallone likes that or not.”

Politico: “Scarred by years of Republican attacks over Obamacare, with more in store next year, Democrats have settled on an unlikely strategy for the 2014 midterms: Bring it on.”

“Party strategists believe that embracing the polarizing law — especially its more popular elements — is smarter politics than fleeing from it in the House elections. The new tack is a marked shift from 2010, when Republicans pointed to Obamacare as Exhibit A of Big Government run amok on their way to seizing the House from Democrats.”

Terry McAuliffe (D) has a nearly 2-to-1 edge in campaign cash on hand at the end of May over rival Ken Cuccinelli (R) in their head-to-head sprint to November’s bellwether gubernatorial election in swing state Virginia, the AP reports.

New Jersey State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D) said the special election to fill Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) seat should be held in November, at the same time voters cast ballots for governor, the Newark Star Ledger reports.

He “acknowledged there is some conflict between state laws governing how senate seats are filled before a term expires, but the governor must defer to giving voters the option at the earliest moment.”

Said Sweeney: “It needs to be happen in November. I know there is some conflicting information, but you cannot disenfranchise voters for 17 or 18 months.”

If Christie ignores his advice, Sweeney said, “We’ll take it to court.”

The Week: Christie faces a huge decision.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is so eager to avoid appearing on the same ballot as Cory Booker (D) that he is considering two alternatives to a November election for Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-NJ) successor, the New York Times reports.

“The option that is being pushed by many in Mr. Christie’s own party would be to name a Republican to hold the seat and then delay an election on a replacement until 2014. This would give his national party an unexpected gift: a reliable vote in the Senate — for a year and a half, at least — from a state that has not elected a Republican to the upper house in 41 years. But it would also open Mr. Christie up to allegations of sidestepping the electoral process.”

“The alternative, lawyers in both parties said, would be for Mr. Christie to set a primary election as early as August, which would mean a special election in October. This would leave Democrats in a stronger position to win the seat. Mr. Booker, in particular, benefits from a high national profile and strong fund-raising, though he would be quite likely to face a primary challenge. But it would also open Mr. Christie to accusations that he was wasting some $24 million in taxpayer money by holding those two extra elections ahead of the regular November balloting for self-interested political reasons.”

Nate Silver: “If Mr. Christie wants to maximize the G.O.P.’s chances of holding on to the seat, the path is fairly straightforward. He would want to appoint a moderate Republican who had held a prominent elected office before, who could raise money quickly and who could scale up to the effort that a statewide campaign would require.”

“Mr. Christie might have decent choices from New Jersey’s list of current United States representatives. Six of the state’s 12 representatives are Republicans, and most of those Republicans are quite moderate… In particular, Mr. Christie could appoint one of the two Republican representatives — Frank LoBiondo of the Second Congressional District and Jon Runyan of the Third — who won re-election last year in districts carried by President Obama.”

John Avlon looks at five possible Christie picks.

Stu Rothenberg: “Democratic prospects of taking back the House in 2014 may be remote, but two Democratic congressional challengers I interviewed recently have the potential to knock off GOP incumbents next year. At the very least, their races are worth watching.”

“New York City Councilman Domenic Recchia is off and running in a Staten Island/Brooklyn district against two-term GOP Rep. Michael G. Grimm, who can’t afford to take this challenger lightly.”

“And in the Florida Panhandle, attorney Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida Gov. and former Sen. Bob Graham, is mounting what looks to be a potentially serious challenge to two-term GOP Rep. Steve Southerland II.”