Newark official wins special election to fill seat of late New Jersey Rep. Payne

According to Decision Desk HQ, Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver (D) has won the special election to fill a vacant seat in the House of Representatives from New Jersey's 10th Congressional District.

McIver defeated Republican Carmen Bucco, a businesswoman, and is serving the remainder of the term of the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D), who died in April of a heart attack caused by diabetes. Her victory is no surprise in the all-blue district, the most liberal in New Jersey.

McIver and Bucco are also their parties' candidates for a full term and will face each other again in November.

Payne won the nomination for the next term posthumously because the election deadline had already passed when he died and he was the only candidate. The Democratic county committeemen who make up the district selected McIver as their candidate in July after she beat a large field in the June special primary to replace Payne.

With her victory, McIver will become the second black woman to represent New Jersey in the House of Representatives, following Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D) who was previously elected to the House in 2014.

This year, New Jersey's congressional delegation has seen significant turnover due to deaths and resignations. In addition to Payne, the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D) died in August at age 87 after weeks in the hospital, ending a nearly three-decade career in the House.

Democratic county officials selected Democratic Sen. Nellie Pou as the Democratic nominee to seek re-election in November, but with Election Day approaching, the seat will remain vacant for the remainder of the current term.

The state also has a new senator: controversial former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-R) resigned from office last month after being convicted of bribery and spying. George Helmy, former chief of staff to Gov. Phil Murphy (D-R), was appointed this month to succeed Menendez as senator.

However, Helmy is expected to step down from the post after the November election. Menendez's seat was up for election, and Murphy is expected to nominate the winner of the race, either Rep. Andy Kim (D) or businessman Curtis Bashaw, to be senator so they can begin their terms early.

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