New Jersey Democrats set to pick candidate in special House primary for Donald Payne Jr.'s seat

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democrats are set to pick from a crowded field of nearly a dozen people for their House candidate in a special northern New Jersey primary on Tuesday.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy set the special primary under state law after Rep. Donald Payne Jr.'s death earlier this year. The special general election is slated for Sept. 18.

Among the candidates vying for the 10th Congressional District seat are Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver and a former staffer for Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, Brittany Claybrooks.

McIver has raised the most cash so far in the race, according to figures from the Federal Election Commission, and has endorsements from prominent figures in the party, including Murphy and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

The special election will determine who serves out the remainder of Payne’s term, which ends Jan. 3, 2025, while the regular election process held in parallel will determine who fills the seat after that. It’s still not clear who leaders of the local Democratic parties in each county in the district will pick to appear on the ballot in November.

The 10th District lies in a heavily Democratic and majority-Black region of northern New Jersey. Republicans are outnumbered by more than 6 to 1.

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Republican Carmen Bucco was uncontested in the GOP primary.

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It’s been a volatile year for Democrats in New Jersey, where the party dominates state government and the congressional delegation.

Among the developments were the indictment on federal bribery charges of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who denies the charges, and the demise of the so-called county party line — a system in which local political leaders give their preferred candidates favorable position on the primary ballot.

Kim and other Democrats brought a federal lawsuit challenging the practice as part of his campaign to oust Menendez, who’s up for reelection this year.

Democrats abandoned Menendez, and he’s vowed to run as an independent, but he challenged the system amid a contest against state first lady Tammy Murphy, who had party leader backing. She withdrew from the race, but a federal judge put a temporary hold on the longtime practice, upending the system and tweaking party leaders.