A popular New Jersey progressive Democrat who served six terms as a congressman has won his party’s primary for the state’s 10th congressional district – despite dying in office more than a month ago.
Representative Donald Payne, 65, suffered a heart attack on 6 April and died in hospital more than two weeks later – after the filing deadline for the primary, and too late for a vacancy committee to meet to replace him on the primary ballot.
Under party procedures, a meeting will be held later this month and a new candidate will be chosen and later certified in time for the November vote.
But Payne will be missed. He checked the boxes for progressive voters: he supported Medicare for all, the Green New Deal, racial justice, equal rights for all, reproductive freedom, public transportation and free college tuition.
He came from a line of a New Jersey Democratic politicians representing the Black-majority district of Newark – one of the bluest districts in the entire country. His father, Donald Payne Sr, had been New Jersey’s first-ever Black representative.
Payne was running for re-election unopposed when he was taken ill at home and later had a heart attack.
“New Jersey lost a great public servant far too soon. Many people knew Don for his trademark bow tie, big smile and friendly demeanor,” Representative Frank Pallone Jr said at a tribute event for Payne in April.
“With incredible style and a bone-deep optimism that was truly contagious, Don was a kind, gentle giant in the people’s House,” the Colorado representative Joe Neguse added.
In a tribute in published in the New Jersey Globe, the Rev Charles Boyer said that both father and son had been “instrumental in advancing the rights and interests of Black people in our state”.
He added that “the seat that Donald Payne Jr held is not just a position of power, but a symbol of hope and progress for Black people in New Jersey. It represents our voice in the political landscape, our fight for equality, and our aspiration for a better future”.
