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/q6PN2jzDO2Rep. Donald Payne Jr. won his New Jersey primary for the 10th Congressional District on Tuesday — more than a month after he died.
Payne was running uncontested despite having passed away from a "cardiac episode" following a heart attack on April 24 at the age of 65.
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) June 4, 2024
By the time of Payne's death, the deadline to register as a candidate had passed.
Democrat officials have already begun preparation for a special election this summer to replace him on the November ballot. The late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) won the Democratic nomination for another term in the House on Tuesday, weeks after he died in office.
State law provides that the members of the Democrat party county committees in the district select rather than elect his Democrat… pic.twitter.com/lxYFeVEhjc
— Noble Road (@noble_road) June 5, 2024
Payne had served in Congress since November 2012 after his father's death. His father is former Rep. Donald Payne Sr., the state's first black representative.
Mediaite pointed out that Payne is not the first politician to win an election posthumously.
"Others who achieved electoral victories following their deaths include former Alaska Rep. Nick Begich, former Missouri Senator-Elect Mel Carnahan, and former Hawaii Rep. Patsy Mink, who was reelected to Congress in 2002 after she passed away," the report states.
The Washington Examiner noted, "With Payne’s vacant seat in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had a one-seat majority. That majority will move to two seats later on Monday after Republican Vince Fong is sworn in as the newest GOP representative in the House. Fong won a special election to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy."
