Special Elections Will Decide Who Replaces Late Donald Payne Jr. In NJ

NEW JERSEY — Voters living in the 10th District of New Jersey are currently without a representative in Congress following the death of U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. That will change when an election to fill the late lawmaker’s seat in North Jersey takes place later this year, advocates say.

The House of Representatives seat in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District remains open after Payne died last month, according to Newark-based nonprofit Project Ready.

New Jersey's 10th Congressional District includes the following municipalities:

• Essex County – Caldwell, East Orange, Essex Fells, Irvington, Montclair (part), Newark (part), Orange, Verona, West Orange
• Hudson County – Jersey City (part)
• Union County – Cranford, Garwood, Hillside, Kenilworth, Linden (part), Roselle, Roselle Park, Union Township

Gov. Phil Murphy has announced that a special election will be held to fill the seat, with special primary and general elections set for July 16 and Sept. 18. The winner will take over for the rest of Payne’s term, which runs until January 2025.

The following Democratic candidates have filed petitions to run in the special primary election, Project Ready said last week:

• Derek Armstead, mayor of Linden
• Brittany Claybrooks, former East Orange Councilmember and North Jersey political director for Congressman Andy Kim’s U.S. Senate campaign
• John J. Flora, Jersey City educator
• Darryl Godfrey, CEO, New Jersey Redevelopment Authority
• Alberta Gordon, Democratic district leader, Newark’s South Ward
• Shana Melius, former staffer for Rep. Payne Jr.
• LaMonica McIver, Newark City Council president
• Eugene Mazo
• Sheila Montague
• Debra Salters
• Jerry Walker, Hudson County Commissioner

The following Republican candidate has filed petitions to run:

• Carmen Bucco

What happens after that? This is where the June 4 primary election and Nov. 5 general election come in, Project Ready noted:

“Rep. Payne Jr. will be the only candidate on the ballot for the Democratic primary and thus (unless there is a successful write-in campaign) will win the Democratic nomination for the General Election. Then, Democratic committee members in the 10th District must nominate a candidate to replace Rep. Payne Jr. on the ballot for the General Election. Whoever wins the General Election on November 5th will become the next Congressmember representing New Jersey’s 10th District for the full term starting in January 2025 through January 2027.”

The Clerk of the House is supervising Payne’s office and will continue to do so until the seat is filled. But until then, there is no lawmaker from the area voting on legislation, and no one serving as the “voice of the district,” according to Project Ready.

The end result? Hundreds of thousands of people in North Jersey are currently underrepresented in Congress.

• Read More: Donald Payne: Mourning Continues For NJ Congressman With ‘Big Heart’
• Read More: President Biden Joins Mourning For Late NJ Congressman Donald Payne

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