New Jersey is holding a special election to fill the seat of Rep. Payne to fulfill

A primary election is scheduled for July 16 to begin filling a U.S. House of Representatives seat in Newark that was left vacant following the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. from a heart attack last month.

The primary date was announced Friday by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and will determine who will fill Payne’s role until January 2025, when his current term ends. A general election on September 18 will decide who takes the seat next.

Payne died on April 24 after “medical complications due to diabetes and hypertension that led to subsequent cardiac arrest,” his office announced at the time.

He was originally hospitalized on April 6 after experiencing a “physical accident” at home, the release said.

The New Jersey Democrat had already filed for re-election before his death, and will now appear uncontested in the June 4 primary. If Payne wins his party’s nomination, Democratic Party committee members could select another candidate to run in his place in the November general election.

The majority-black district that Payne represents leans heavily Democratic, with registered Republicans outnumbered by more than 6-to-1.

Payne had served the district since 2012, succeeding his late father, Rep. Donald Payne Sr., who became New Jersey’s first African-American representative in 1988 and held the seat for 20 years before also dying in office — leaving lost a battle against the colon. cancer.

With News Wire services