Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark) – an immensely likable, low-key but effective, progressive six-term congressman from New Jersey with a passion for social justice and constituent service – died today. He was 65.
Payne suffered a heart attack on April 6 and had been unconscious and on a ventilator since then at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. He battled a series of health issues in recent years, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney issues that required regular dialysis.
He is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Payne’s father, Rep. Donald Payne Sr. (D-Newark), was a trailblazer in New Jersey politics. When he was elected to Congress in 1988, the winner of an open seat after twice challenging Rep. Peter W. Rodino (D-Newark) in the Democratic primary in a Black-majority district, he became New Jersey’s first-ever Black representative.
Following his father’s death of colon cancer in March 2012 at age 77, Payne became a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives and won a tough primary in New Jersey’s 10th district.
As a Democrat, Payne checked all the boxes for support among progressive voters: he supported Medicare for All, Green New Deal, Racial Justice, Equal Rights for all, Reproductive Freedom, public transportation, and free college tuition.
