McIver sworn in to fill late New Jersey Rep. Payne’s seat

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D) was sworn into the House on Monday evening after winning the special election earlier this month.

McIver, 38, now represents New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District after defeating Republican Carmen Bucco. She will serve the remainder of the term for the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr., who died in April.

McIver and the New Jersey delegation arrived on the House floor for her swearing-in ceremony. The House stood and applauded after she took her oath of office. Speaking before the House, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) welcomed McIver and recognized Payne’s legacy.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said McIver represents “a series of firsts” as the youngest person elected to Newark City Council, then the youngest person elected as the council’s president and now as the youngest person elected to Congress on behalf of New Jersey.

In her first remarks on the House floor, McIver said she walks in the footsteps of those who came before her.

“My predecessor, Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr., embodied the vibrant spirit of our city and the people he faithfully served. He was an example to many of us. As I stand before you tonight, I pay tribute to him and both deeply feel, and will always miss, his presence and his leadership,” she said.

McIver continued, saying she hopes to “blaze new trails together on the march toward fully realizing the promise of our great American nation.”

Like McIver, Payne was the president of the Newark City Council.

Payne died following a heart attack related to complications from diabetes. He posthumously won the nomination for the next term because the ballot deadline had already passed.

Democratic county committee members chose McIver to fill in as the nominee after she won in the June special primary against nearly a dozen other candidates.

McIver and Bucco are their respective parties’ nominees for a full House term and will go head-to-head again on the ballot in November.

McIver’s special election victory and her chances in the general election are not surprising in this very solidly blue district.

Her win will make her the second Black woman to represent New Jersey in the House, joining Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D).

She’s not the only new New Jerseyan to be sworn in. Earlier this month, Sen. George Helmy (D) was sworn in to fill the remainder of former Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D) term after he resigned over a conviction on charges including bribery.