The late New Jersey Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. will win the primary posthumously in the 10th Congressional District on Tuesday as the only Democrat on the ballot.
State and party officials are already preparing for a competitive special election to fill Payne’s seat later this summer. Payne, 65, died on April 24 from a “cardiac episode” following a heart attack earlier that month and battling a series of health troubles over recent years.
Due to New Jersey’s filing rules, the deadline for the 2024 election has already passed, meaning no one will replace Payne in the regular primary on Tuesday.
He served six terms in the House of Representatives, entering Congress after the death of his father, former Rep. Donald Payne Sr., who was New Jersey’s first black representative.
Following Payne’s posthumous win on Tuesday, the Democratic committee members of the 10th District’s areas in Essex, Union, and Hudson counties will meet to select their nominee to replace him on the regular November ballot.
With Payne’s vacant seat in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had a one-seat majority. That majority will move to two seats later on Monday after Republican Vince Fong is sworn in as the newest GOP representative in the House. Fong won a special election to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
New Jersey special election on the horizon
Separate from the Nov. 5 regular general election ballot, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) set a July 16 special primary election and a special general election on Sept. 18 to select a new member to finish out Payne’s term.
The state’s 10th District is one of the most Democratic districts in the nation, and no Democratic nominee has received less than 75% of the district’s vote in the last two decades. It has not elected a Republican since 1946.
In the aftermath of Payne’s death, a dozen candidates launched campaigns for the special election: 11 Democrats and one Republican, per the New Jersey Monitor.
The Democrats include Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver, former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks, Rutgers law professor Eugene Mazo, Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker, Linden Mayor Derek Armstead, Economic Development Authority executive Darryl Godfrey, former congressional candidate John Flora, former Payne staffer Shana Melius, Essex County College professor Sheila Montague, Alberta Gordon, and Debra Salters.
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Mazo, McIver, and Claybrooks all survived challenges against their appearance on the special election ballot. Claybrooks sought to remove McIver, while the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, supporting McIver, lodged its own challenge against Claybrooks. Mazo narrowly survived a challenge from the Democratic State Committee, as well, per the New Jersey Globe.
Each of the challenges against Mazo, McIver, and Claybrooks called into question the validity of the signatures each candidate collected to qualify on New Jersey’s ballot. Candidates needed to collect 200 signatures in order to gain ballot access, according to the news outlet.
Carmen Bucco was the only Republican to file for the seat, so he will likely be the party’s nominee in the September special election.
