Payne lauds clickbait article naming him New Jersey’s most popular congressman

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. lauded a “study” that named him New Jersey’s most popular House member but did little in the way of actual research, instead basing its rankings on the results of 2018’s House elections.

“I really want to thank the great people of New Jersey’s 10th congressional district for this honor,” Payne said. “They are the ones who elect me and inspire me to fight to better their lives every day. I am proud of the work we have been doing together to benefit the district. I am grateful to be their representative in Congress and hope to continue those efforts in the future.”

It’s unclear at this time whether Payne can differentiate a study from a 12-page listicle.

Payne’s statewide incorrectly stated that the study included polling data, which it did not.

The Newark congressman, who represents one of the most heavily-Democratic districts in the nation, touted the website, Wall Street 24/7, as a “international news and feature service” whose stories are “syndicated around the world.”

Payne was re-elected in 2018 with just under 88% of the vote. Democrats outnumbered Republicans there 266,730 to 25,433 on election day that year.

Based purely on registration with the two major parties, Payne ran behind by about four points, though the district also had 165,518 unaffiliated voters in 2018.

Wall Street 24/7, was at least transparent in their methodology.

“To identify the most popular House members, we reviewed the district by district outcome of the 2018 midterm elections for each congressional district,” the website said.

InsiderNJ posted Payne’s press release.