Published reports that U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is under consideration for the top job at the NHL Players Association could lead to renewed consideration of Rep. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) for a cabinet post.
Norcross, a six-term congressman and former South Jersey AFL-CIO president, was a potential candidate for the cabinet post after Biden won the 2020 presidential election. A published report said that Norcross was one of four names proposed by the AFL-CIO for labor secretary.
In addition to Walsh, the mayor of Boston, and Norcross, two others under consideration were Rep. Andy Levin (D-Michigan), a former labor organizer, and Seth Harris, an assistant labor secretary during the Obama administration. Others mentioned as potential candidates for the post included U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and California Labor Secretary Julie Su.
If Walsh departs the Biden cabinet and Norcross gets the job, it would be up to Gov. Phil Murphy to call a special election to fill the vacant 1st district congressional seat. Murphy has statutory authority to schedule a special primary between 70 and 76 days after the vacancy occurs, but only if he wants to. He isn’t obligated to issue the writ immediately.
That could set up a special election for a House seat in a solidly Democratic district on the same day as the November 2023 general election, when legislative races in the 3rd and 4th districts – both expected to be highly competitive – are on the ballot.
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