TRENTON, New Jersey — LaMonica McIver, Democratic Speaker of the Newark City Council defeated Republican small businesswoman Carmen Bucco in a race in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District that opened due to the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in April.
McIver will serve the remainder of Payne’s termwhich ends in January. She and Bucco will face off in the November election for the full term.
McIver said in a statement Wednesday that she stands on the “shoulders of giants,” appointing Payne as the leader among them.
She pushed ahead with the November election, saying the right to make reproductive health choices was on the agenda, as well as whether the economy should benefit the wealthy or “hard-working Americans.”
“I will fight because the purpose of politics and the purpose of our vote is to give people in our communities and our nation a strong voice,” she said.
Bucco congratulated McIver on his victory in a statement, but said he was looking forward to the rematch in November.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said in an email. “We still have a second chance to make District 10 great again!”
Who are LaMonica McIver and Carmen Bucco?
McIver emerged as the Democratic nominee in a tight field in the July special election. A member of the City Council in New Jersey’s largest city since 2018, she also worked for Montclair Public Schools as a personnel director and plans to focus on affordability, infrastructure, abortion rights and “protecting our democracy,” she told The Associated Press earlier this summer.
On his campaign website, Bucco describes himself as a small business owner influenced by his upbringing in foster care. He lists supporting law enforcement and fighting corruption as his top issues.
The 10th District is in a region of northern New Jersey that is predominantly Democratic and black. Republicans outnumber them six to one.
It’s been a volatile year for Democrats in New Jersey, where the party dominates state government and the congressional delegation.
Among the developments, we can mention: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez’s Federal Corruption Convictionwho denied the accusations, and the disappearance of the so-called county party line — a system in which local political leaders give their preferred candidates a favorable position in the primary vote.
Democratic Representative Andy Kim, Who’s running for Menendez’s seat?and other Democrats have filed a federal lawsuit challenging the practice as part of his campaign to oust Menendez, who resigned since his conviction.
