Booker, Menendez endorse Payne for re-election

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark) today got the endorsements of New Jersey’s two U.S. Senators, Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, in his bid for re-election to the 10th congressional district.

“Donald Payne, Jr., and I worked hand in hand to bring an economic renaissance to the City of Newark when we both served there, and now we’re partners in Washington fighting for policy solutions to uplift New Jersey’s working families,” Booker said in a statement. “There is no one better in touch with the needs of the residents in Essex, Hudson and Union counties than Congressman Payne.” 

As the former mayor of Newark, Booker and Payne once ran on the same local ticket; Payne served on the Newark City Council from 2006 until 2012, when he was elected to Congress, and Booker became a senator the next year.

Menendez, meanwhile, once represented portions of the current 10th district when he was a congressman, serving alongside Payne’s predecessor and father, the late Rep. Donald Payne Sr. (D-Newark).

“I served for many years in the House of Representatives with Congressman Payne’s father Donald M. Payne, Sr., and it gives me tremendous pride to watch his son follow in his footsteps as a champion for working people in New Jersey’s 10th congressional district,” Menendez said. “Congressman Payne has developed into one of the foremost leaders in our congressional delegation and someone his constituents can always count on to deliver the leadership they need.”

Payne faces a Democratic primary challenge from Imani Oakley, who raised $121,158 last quarter to Payne’s $224,646. If Payne prevails in the primary, he’ll have no trouble winning a general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.