Donald Payne Jr, Democratic congressman from New Jersey, dies

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Representative Donald Payne Jr., a Democrat from New Jersey, passed away on Wedneaday at the age of 65.

Payne first assumed office in 2012 when he won a special election in New Jersey’s 10th district. He succeeded his father, the late Donald Payne Sr after the elder Payne died. Prior to that, Mr Payne served on the Newark Municipal Council.

Mr Payne was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and he voted with President Joe Biden 100 per cent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, issued a statement sending his condolences.

“It was my great honor to work side-by-side with Donald to build a stronger and fairer New Jersey, and we will hold his memory close to our hearts as we build upon the Payne family’s deep legacy of service in advocating for the communities they served so dearly,” he said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Mr Payne’s office said that he had been hospitalised for what he staff called a “cardiac episode” due to diabetes, but said he was in “stable condition.” As a result, Mr Payne missed this weekend’s vote to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

New Jersey’s Democratic primary will take place on 4 June. It’s not entirely clear when a special election will take place to replace him.

Mr Payne’s death also means that Democrats’ minority down to 212 and gives Republicans in the US House of Representatives a two-seat majority instead of a one-seat majority. Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, resigned his seat on Saturday.

New Jersey has seen numerous political earth quakes in recent months. Last year, Bob Menendez, the state’s senior Democratic senator, was indicted on corruption charges, which prompted calls for his resignation.

In the race to replace Mr Menendez, Democratic Representative Andy Kim and Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey, squared off in the Democratic primary before Ms Murphy suspended her campaign. Mr Menendez later said that he would not seek re-election but that if the charges were cleared, he might run as an independent.

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