Former Democratic Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver has been sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives to represent New Jersey’s 10th congressional district seat following a special election win on Sept. 18.
The seat in the House of Representatives was previously held by the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who died in April following a heart attack at 65 years of age. McIver will serve out the remainder of Payne’s term, which ends in January.
“As I stand here tonight, I am filled with more optimism than ever before that we can accomplish so much together that we can find common ground that we can disagree while nurturing our democracy,” she said.
McIver defeated ten other competitors who raised their hands to be the Democrat candidate in a July 2024 primary to advance into the special election against Republican small businessman Carmen Bucco.
Bucco congratulated McIver on the victory in a media statement. However, he also said he was looking forward to a rematch in November, when the seat will again be up for grabs in the upcoming election.
“I am not going anywhere, we still have a second chance to make district 10 great again,” he said.
McIver’s ascension marks the first time in 35 years that someone with the last name Payne hasn’t represented the district. The late congressman, Donald Payne Jr., was in his sixth full term when he died in office. He succeeded his father, Donald M. Payne Sr., who held the seat from 1989 until he died in office in 2012.
Until recently, the 38-year-old McIver was the city council president in Newark. She started on the road to political office after Mayor Raj Baraka, then principal of Central High School, introduced her to politics at the age of 10 while he was running for the local Newark council.
“It is fitting that he is here tonight with us. It was in those years that I saw up close how government at all levels could impact daily life in our communities and how even small changes have the ability to add up to transform transformational progress,” McIver said.
