Imagine that the candidate to be named at this late date was the carbon-copy of Torricelli. Torricelli was done in by months and months of revelations about his personal dishonesty and bribe-taking. If he only had to run a 35-day campaign, none of his wrongdoing would have come to light, and he would have won at a walk.
Torricelli was losing for a reason. Eliminating the need to campaign for an extended period impedes public scrutiny of the candidates and makes it more likely that somebody who should not be allowed to hold office can win an election before anybody knows that he is crooked.
Torricelli himself proves why this subsitution should not be allowed.
Excellent points, all. This entire things smells to high heaven.
Couldn't have said it better.