Dead man in the race: Deceased congressman wins election in New Jersey

Many elections feature reports of dead people voting, but voting by a dead person is far less common. Yet that’s exactly what happened Tuesday when Representative Donald Payne Jr. won a primary in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District.

According to the New York Post, the popular congressman and member of the Congressional Black Caucus suffered a fatal heart attack on April 24.

The deadline for primary campaigns in New Jersey was in March. Congressman Payne was the only candidate to register.

DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE FROM NEW JERSEY, DONALD PAYNE JR. DEATHS AT 65 YEARS OF AGE

Rep. Donald Payne, Jr., DN.J., co-chair of the Colorectal Cancer Caucus, speaks at the installation of the Fight Colorectal Cancer “United in Blue” flag on the National Mall to raise awareness of the rise in colorectal cancer cases among young adults, March 12, 2024, in Washington, DC (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for the fight against colon cancer)

Not surprisingly, Payne Jr. was not challenged in the primary. He had held the seat since 2012, and his father had held it for 20 years before that. Payne Jr. succeeded his father when the elder Payne also died in office.

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The Garden State’s election rules dictate that Payne cannot be replaced on the ballot, so a special primary will be held instead on July 16. Nearly a dozen Democrats have already notified party leaders that they plan to run for the seat.

New Jersey’s 10th District is one of the more conservative in the country, with a whopping 6-1 Democratic edge. It includes Newark and other urban areas of Hudson, Union and Essex counties, and hasn’t been represented by a Republican since 1946.

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