Democrats choose Newark council president to replace the late Rep. Payne on November ballot

Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver is the heavy favorite to win election to the late Rep Donald Payne's seat in November. (Sophie NIeto-Munoz | New Jersey Monitor)

Democratic officials on Thursday chose Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver to take the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr.’s place on November’s ballot in the 10th Congressional District.

McIver won 337 of the 426 votes cast at the Democratic convention in the Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology in Newark, nearly 80%. McIver, who will face Republican Carmen Bucco in the fall, is the heavy favorite to win in this heavily Democratic district, which includes towns in Essex, Hudson, and Union counties.

“I’m just super excited to be over this second hump. It’s been a very, very long process,” McIver said.

The district will see two elections in the next four months, one on Sept. 18 to determine who will serve out the remainder of Payne’s term, which expires on Jan. 3, and one on Nov. 5, when voters will decide who succeeds Payne when the new Congress convenes.

McIver’s landslide victory comes on the heels of winning the Democratic nomination Tuesday to challenge Bucco in the Sept. 18 special election.

McIver beat out six other candidates vying for the spot on November’s ballot, including Linden Mayor Derek Armstead, Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker, former Payne staffer Shana Melius, and former Assemblyman Craig Stanley.

Armstead nabbed 43 votes, Walker won 18, Stanley finished with 13, and Melius won 5. Teacher John Flora received six votes and community college professor Sheila Montague won four votes.

Payne died at age 65 in April. His death came too late for his name to be taken off the ballot for June’s primary, which he won posthumously, so Democratic officials in the district’s three counties had to meet Thursday to choose his replacement.

A moment of silence was held before the vote in honor of Payne. Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) said Payne’s successor will have “enormous shoes to fill.”

McIver called this “one of the longest processes of my political life.”

“Despite it all, I’m just totally, humbly, grateful and thankful for this opportunity to serve and looking forward to pushing to September 18,” she said.

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