Voters in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District are heading to the polls on July 16 to select their chosen candidate to serve out the remainder of the late U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr.’s term.
Democrats will make their selection from a crowded field of 11 contenders, of whom three survived legal challenges to their candidacy.
The winner of that contest will take on Carmen Bucco, the sole Republican candidate, in the special general election on Sept. 18.
Mr. Bucco is also the GOP candidate in the November election to hold the seat for a full term. The small business owner is hoping for an upset in a district where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 6 to 1.
Mr. Payne, a Democrat, was nearing the end of his sixth term when he died on April 24, weeks after he suffered a heart attack. He nevertheless went on to win his party’s primary on June 4 as the only candidate on the ballot.
William D. Payne, a former state assemblyman and the late congressman’s uncle, has endorsed Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver to fill the vacancy.
Ms. McIver also boasts the backing of other prominent New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and state party chair Leroy Jones.
Her candidacy was challenged early in the race by fellow contender and former East Orange City Council member Brittany Claybrooks.
Candidates for the special primary were required to submit 200 valid signatures from District Democrats to run. Ms. McIver’s election filings showed that one city council aide managed to collect 1,081 signatures in support of her candidacy in just three days—a feat Ms. Claybrooks held to be impossible.
Ultimately, the case was dismissed by a state administrative law judge.
Ms. Claybrooks also fended off a legal challenge to her own nominating papers, as did election law professor Eugene Mazo. Those challenges were lodged by state Democratic Party officials.
Other Democrats in the running include Linden Mayor Derek Armstead, Jersey City educator John Flora, state economic redevelopment official Darryl Godfrey, small business owner and community activist Alberta Gordon, former Payne congressional staffer Shana Melius, educator and community organizer Sheila Montague, community activist Debra Salters, and Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker.
The 10th Congressional District comprises Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. Essex, which includes the state’s largest city, Newark, accounts for most of the district’s population.
As of July 7, Democratic voters had already cast 6,911 ballots in the primary, 53 percent of which were in Essex County.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. ET on Election Day, July 16, and will remain open until 8 p.m.
