Longtime Rep. Donald Payne Jr. was re-elected in New Jersey’s Democratic primary on Tuesday… six weeks after his death.
Payne died of a heart attack on April 25, after the filing deadline for New Jersey’s Democratic primary.
Businessman-turned-philanthropist Carmen Bucco ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. Bucco remains alive and well.
After electing a longtime Democratic leader from beyond the grave, New Jersey will hold a special primary on July 16 to choose a candidate for serving the remainder of Payne’s term. The state will hold its special general election on Sept. 18.
To elect the permanent representative for the upcoming term, the Garden State will vote in the regularly scheduled election on Nov. 5, like rest of the nation.
The Garden State’s 10th district, anchored in Jersey City, ranks as one of the nation’s bluest. Payne won 77 percent of the vote in his 2022 race.
In winning a House race after his death, Payne has some unusual company. He joins the ranks of the late Reps. Patsy Mink of Hawaii and Nick Begich of Alaska. Mink won her 2002 race after dying in office, and Begich won his 1972 case one month after disappearing.
And these weren’t the most eyebrow raising cases.
In 2018, Republican Dennis Hof — a deceased brothelkeeper — won a statehouse race in Nevada one month after he passed away at 72.
And in 2000, Missouri Democrat Mel Carnahan won a U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican John Ashcroft… even though Carnahan had died in a plane crash weeks earlier.
Before he took office Payne’s father, Donald Payne Sr., also died in office in 2012.
Payne Jr. first joined the House after running in the special election to succeed his late father.
Take a look at this comical ballot from the 10th district’s primary —
It’s primary day in New Jersey! The only candidate on the ballot for the 10th congressional district, Donald Payne Jr., is currently deceased pic.twitter.com/q6PN2jzDO2
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) June 4, 2024
Besides just Payne’s victory, New Jersey experienced a blockbuster primary on Tuesday.
Rep. Andy Kim, an underdog, won the Democrats’ primary for U.S. Senate. He’d faced stiff competition from state First Lady Tammy Murphy until she suspended her campaign to endorse him.
Sen. Bob Menendez didn’t appear on the Democrats’ primary ballot. The incumbent senator is currently on trial for federal charges of bribery, and he’s chosen to run for re-election as an independent.
But Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. — the embattled senator’s son — won his Democratic primary for the U.S. House.
Menendez Jr., the incumbent representative, survived a challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and he won more than 53 percent of the vote.