Recent special elections bode well for Democrats

If Republicans were about to experience a breakthrough among black voters, as some polls had suggested, New Jersey’s tenth congressional district (which includes Newark) might be a place to start. Around half its residents are black. But in the special election on September 18th to fill the district’s vacant House seat the Democratic candidate, LaMonica McIver, won in a landslide. She defeated her opponent by 81% to 16%—a larger margin than President Joe Biden managed there in 2020.