Deceased Congressman Wins New Jersey Primary

AP Photo/Cliff Owen

A Democratic congressman won his primary in New Jersey on Tuesday more than a month after he died following a heart attack.

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ) won the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District on Tuesday, uncontested, despite the fact that the congressman passed away on April 24 at the age of 65.

New Jersey’s filing deadline had already passed at the time of Payne’s death, resulting in the deceased congressman running uncontested in the 10th Congressional District. Republican candidate Carmen Bucco , who is very much alive, also won his party’s primary for the district uncontested.

According to the Washington Examiner , Democratic committee members for the 10th District will select a nominee to replace Payne on the general election ballot in November.

Payne – who served as the representative for New Jersey’s 10th District since November 2012, when his father, Donald Payne Sr., passed away from colon cancer – is not the first politician to win an election posthumously.

Others who achieved electoral victories following their deaths include former Alaska Rep. Nick Begich , former Missouri Senator-Elect Mel Carnahan , and former Hawaii Rep. Patsy Mink , who was reelected to Congress in 2002 after she passed away.