The most vulnerable member of the New Jersey congressional delegation in 2008 is Donald Payne, a ten-term Democrat from Newark who won 97% of the vote in his last contested race. The 72-year-old Congressman has found himself on the wrong side of an Essex County Democratic political battle, and continues to anger some party leaders by the independent candidacy of his brother, Assemblyman William Payne, 74, in a race for the State Senate.

Payne's nephew, Craig Stanley, was defeated in a Democratic primary for State Assembly last week in a district where he was a six-term incumbent. Two other Payne-endorsed legislators, Oadline Truitt and Wilfredo Caraballo, also lost re-election in the primary. But another Payne candidate, State Sen. Ronald Rice, narrowly held his seat against a challenge from the political organization of Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Democratic sources say that Essex County Democratic Chairman Philip Thigpen, who is Payne's cousin, is slated to be replaced.