LaMonica McIver wins special Democratic primary for NJ-10

LaMonica McIver won the special Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District on July 16, 2024. She defeated ten other candidates. The election was called to fill the vacancy created when former incumbent Donald Payne Jr. (D) died on April 24, 2024. The winner of the special election will serve out the remainder of Payne Jr.’s term, which runs through January 3, 2025.

McIver will face Carmen Bucco (R) in the special general election on September 18, 2024. A Democrat has represented the district since 1949.

McIver was first elected to the Newark City Council in 2018. She was previously the personnel director for Montclair Public Schools and a public affairs manager for PSE&G. McIver said “she believes every individual deserves equal opportunity to achieve their full potential.”

Payne Jr. won the Democratic primary on June 4, 2024, six weeks after he died. State law allowed the party representatives from Essex, Hudson, and Union counties to choose a replacement candidate for the general election. That meeting is scheduled for July 18, 2024.

The general election will be the first non-November special election held for a congressional district in New Jersey since 1950, when William Widnall (R) was elected to the 7th Congressional District following J. Parnell Thomas’ conviction on corruption charges.