Twelve vying to fill the late Rep. Donald Payne’s term

A dozen candidates have launched campaigns in the special election to fill the unexpired months of the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr.’s term.

Eleven Democrats will vie for the nomination in one of the most Democratic districts in the country, one that regularly sent Payne to Congress with more than 80% of the vote. The special primary is set for July 16 and the general election will be Sept. 18.

Payne died last month after a heart attack. He was 65.

Campaigns by Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver — who has the backing of Essex County’s Democratic Party — and former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks will both appear on the ballot after overcoming challenges to their nominating petitions.

Claybrooks sought to remove McIver from the ballot, alleging her petitions were fraudulent because they say a single circulator — McIver’s mother, Robin McIver — could not have gathered nearly 1,100 signatures over a weekend.

The Democratic State Committee, which supports McIver, lodged its own challenge to Claybrooks’ petitions, but that also fell flat. The committee had challenged signatures, alleging a single individual signed for multiple voters.

The administrative law judge who adjudicated the Claybrooks challenge invalidated some signatures but left Claybrooks, a former political director for Rep. Andy Kim’s U.S. Senate campaign, with enough names to get onto the ballot in time for the July special primary.

Hudson County Commissioner Jerry Walker, Linden Mayor Derek Armstead, and Economic Development Authority executive Darryl Godfrey are also mounting bids.

They join former congressional candidate John Flora, former Payne staffer Shana Melius, Essex County College professor Sheila Montague, Alberta Gordon, and Debra Salters.

Carmen Bucco was the only Republican to file for the seat, making him the party’s presumptive nominee in the September election.

No Democratic nominee has received less than 75% of the district’s vote in the last two decades. The district has not elected a Republican since 1946.

The special election winner would serve until a new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.

The person who will succeed Payne when the new Congress is sworn in will be chosen in the Nov. 5 general election. Payne remains on the June 4 primary ballot because of the timing of his death, and Bucco is also running in that GOP primary.

After the June 4 results are certified, Democratic county committee members in the 10th District must select a replacement for Payne on November’s ballot. They have until Aug. 29 to make that choice.