New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne dies at 65, weeks after heart attack

U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. ,who represented New Jersey’s only majority-Black Congressional District, has died following a heart attack he suffered two weeks ago. He was 65 and had publicly discussed his struggle with diabetes.

“With his signature bowtie, big heart, and tenacious spirit, Donald embodied the very best of public service,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a written statement. “As a former union worker and toll collector, he deeply understood the struggles our working families face, and he fought valiantly to serve their needs, every single day.”

Payne was elected to represent the 10th Congressional District in 2012 after his father Donald Payne Sr. died in office. The elder Payne was New Jersey’s first Black congressmember and served for three decades in a district spanning Newark and Jersey City, the state's two largest cities.

Payne’s office released a statement on April 10 that he had suffered a “cardiac episode” based on complications from diabetes. As of April 17, his office said he was in stable condition.

Payne was running uncontested in the Democratic Party primary for his re-election this June. His name will remain on the ballot, which has already been sent to residents registered to vote by mail.

Even after his death, Payne could only lose the Democratic primary election in the event of a successful write-in campaign. Provided Payne wins that race as expected, New Jersey’s secretary of state — Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way — would declare a vacancy for the Democratic nomination. From there, Democratic county committees in Essex, Hudson and Union counties would choose a replacement to run in the general election.

The sole Republican running for the 10th District is Carmen Bucco, the founder of an organization focused on helping youths exiting foster care reach self-sufficiency. The 10th District — rated by the Cook Political Report as New Jersey's most Democratic district — hasn’t elected a Republican since 1948.

Gov. Phil Murphy has the discretion to call a special election to select a congressmember to fill Payne’s seat for the remainder of the year, until the winner of the general election takes office. But unlike the process for filling a seat in the U.S. Senate, the governor can not appoint a temporary replacement.

Payne, a Newark Native, graduated from Hillside High School in Union County, in 1976.

“He was a year behind me,” said Jeff Tittel, a longtime activist and retired director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “He was always friendly and helpful, a wonderful person [who] cared a lot about people and the environment.”

Before taking elected office, Payne was the founder and first president of the Newark South Ward Junior Democrats, and an adviser to the YMCA Youth in Government program, according to his official biography. He studied graphic arts at Kean College.

Payne was elected to Newark’s City Council in 2006 and also served on the Essex County Commission, then known as the Board of Freeholders. In 2012, he handily won both a special election to serve the remainder of his father's term as well as a regular election to begin his own first full term in Congress.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, the former mayor of Newark, said on Wednesday that Payne was "never about adulation or applause" but that "the cause of his life was fighting for dignity, security and opportunity for all people."

Payne also sponsored the Colorectal Cancer Screening act, which provided full Medicare coverage to patients who have cancerous polyps removed during colonoscopies. The bill was signed into law in 2020.

Payne's peers in government on Wednesday also noted his work on gun control, voting rights and environmental justice. Since 2021, he chaired the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials in the House Committee on Transportation. He’d been an advocate of the multibillion-dollar Gateway Project to build new rail lines between New Jersey and New York.

He is survived by his wife, Beatrice, and three children, Donald III, Jack, and Yvonne.