Credit: (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)Gov. Phil Murphy will call for an election to fill the 10th Congressional District seat left vacant by the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr.
Murphy issued a writ of election that directs a primary election be held on July 16 and a special general election to follow on Sept. 18, with the new member likely taking office shortly afterward.
Nomination petitions for candidates seeking their party’s nomination must be filed by May 10, according to the governor’s office. Direct nominations by petition for independent candidates must be filed no later than the day of the special primary election.
Payne had been up for reelection in November and was slated to run unopposed in June’s Democratic primary. He died in late April, at the age of 65. He had suffered a cardiac episode on April 6 and remained unconscious and hospitalized in the weeks after.
