A basketball star-turned-Hudson County politician is joining a crowded field attempting to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr. in Congress.
Hudson County Board of Commissioner member Jerry Walker, a Democrat, has filed to run in the special election for New Jersey’s 10th congressional district following the death of Payne two weeks ago. Walker did not respond to a request for comment on his candidacy.
Walker has an extensive résumé across sports, community work and politics. He starred at St. Anthony High School under Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley and also at Seton Hall University.
He is also the founder of Team Walker, a nonprofit that provides education and recreational programs for children.
Walker has become an ally of billionaire Liberty National Golf Course owner Paul Fireman, who has funded millions of dollars into groups pushing to turn Liberty State Park into a sports-and-entertainment mecca. Walker’s nonprofit has also received thousands of dollars in donations from Fireman’s charity.
Walker is a board member of the People’s Park Foundation, one of the group’s funded by Fireman, who at times has lobbied to acquire a portion of the park to expand his golf course.
He made the jump into politics in 2017 when he was elected to the District 3 Board of Commissioners seat, which includes the southern half of Jersey City, east of Bergen Avenue. He was easily re-elected twice, mostly recently in 2023.
Walker will be running in a massive Democratic primary July 16 that includes 12 other candidates. The most notable candidates are Newark City Council President LaMonica McIver, New Jersey Redevelopment Authority COO Darryl Godfrey, Linden Mayor Derek Armstead and former East Orange Councilwoman Brittany Claybrooks.
The general election on Sept. 18 will decide who fills the final three months of the Payne’s current term.
Democratic committee members in the district will ultimately choose who will replace Payne as the Democratic nominee in the regular November election for the seat’s next, full two-year term, which begins in January. That means whoever wins the special election isn’t guaranteed to be on the November ballot.
Given the heavily Democratic lean of the 10th District, whoever wins the special primary election in July is presumptive Congress member.
Although the special election will only be for the remainder of Payne’s unexpired term, winning it can still boost someone’s political career and name recognition, said Francis Moran, chairman of the Department of Political Science at New Jersey City University.
“Even if it’s only a month, you get to send out all those mailings that say ‘from your congressman representing the district’ because it’s free,” Moran said. “You can talk about the work that you’re doing.”
It can also boost the chances that winner of the special election will retain their seat when the Democratic committee members vote for the November nominee replacement, Moran said, barring a “really nasty fight.”
“It would be hard for them to back somebody new that didn’t win the election that was just held a month ago,” Moran said.
Walker faces an uphill climb, given that the 10th District is considered a Newark/Essex County-based seat; the district’s only inclusion of Hudson County is the southern half of Jersey City, although he does represent part of the area in his current office.
His chances in the primary depends on his ability to get out of the vote, in which his Hudson County roots could come in handy, Moran said, and the potential for Essex County and Newark-based candidates to split the votes between each other and create an opening for Walker.
Walker also said in January that he’s contemplating a run for Jersey City mayor in 2025, an election that has also gotten crowded. Moran says Walker’s House run could mean he sees the Jersey City mayor’s office as out of reach.
“The seat in the 10th is a huge opportunity for an ambitious politician since the seat looked out of play for the foreseeable future,” Moran said. “The tragedy of Payne Jr.’s death shook up the political career calculations of many.”
