LaMonica McIver will win special election Democratic primary for deep-blue House seat in New Jersey, CNN projects

By Andrew Menezes and Kaanita Iyer, CNN

(CNN) — LaMonica McIver, the president of the Newark City Council, will win the Democratic nomination in the special election for a deep-blue New Jersey seat, CNN projects, putting her on the fast track to enter Congress later this fall.

McIver was among 11 Democrats running in the state’s 10th Congressional District to serve out the remaining term of the late Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. The seat, which includes parts of Newark and Jersey City and the nearby suburbs, is the most Democratic in the state. Joe Biden would have carried it under its current lines by 60 points in 2020, making McIver the favorite against Republican Carmen Bucco in the special general election on September 18.

Payne was running for a seventh full term when he died in April – after the filing deadline for candidates to enter the primary had passed. The late congressman went on to win the June primary unopposed.

Democratic county committee members from the 10th District are expected to meet on Thursday to pick a replacement for Payne on the November ballot for the regular two-year term, the New Jersey Globe reported. The county committee members are expected to pick the winner of Tuesday’s primary, according to the publication.

McIver was the fundraising leader in the Democratic primary, raising a relatively meager $145,000 through June 30. She also scored high-profile endorsements from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and the campaign arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Earlier in the campaign, McIver survived an attempt to keep her off the ballot due to questions over the collection of signatures for her nominating petition.

New Jersey’s 10th District is one of two current vacancies in the narrowly divided House. The other is Wisconsin’s 8th District, which has been vacant since Republican Mike Gallagher’s resignation in April. The special election for Gallagher’s seat will coincide with the regular election in November.

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