Democratic Rep. LaMonica McKeever on Tuesday secured a second full term representing New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, despite facing federal criminal charges stemming from a run-in with immigration officials last year and giving birth to her second child weeks before Election Day.
The Newark Democrat defeated Republican challenger Carmen Bucco in a rematch of the 2024 race in a heavily Democratic district.
McIver received about 86% of the vote to Bucco’s 13%, with about a third of the vote counted as of 8:30 p.m. ET.
McIver, 40, has been fighting to avoid trial for a May 2025 confrontation with federal officers at the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.
When the congresswoman and two other Democratic congressmen went to the facility for a surveillance inspection, protests broke out outside. Prosecutors charged McIver with assaulting, resisting, obstructing and interfering with federal officers.
McKeever has denied wrongdoing and argued that her prosecution violated constitutional protections for lawmakers performing their official duties.
In August, a federal appeals court allowed two charges against her to proceed while sending the third charge back to a lower court for further review. She later asked the Court of Appeal to reconsider the ruling.
The legal battle continues as McKeever welcomed her second child, a baby girl, on Oct. 1.
McIver entered Congress in 2024 after the death of Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey. She previously served on the Newark City Council for six years, the last two as president.
Bucco is a small business owner in Kenilworth who, in addition to running for Congress twice, is a member of the Belleville Board of Education. The Republican, who grew up in foster care, emphasized support for law enforcement, public safety and eliminating government corruption.
McIver’s victory adds a new chapter to the history of federal lawmakers who have faced criminal charges while serving in Congress.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was convicted in July 2024 of all 16 counts in a federal corruption case involving bribery, fraud and acting as a foreign agent.
Prosecutors said Menendez accepted cash, gold bars and other valuables in exchange for political favors. In January 2025, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife also face federal bribery and foreign influence charges after prosecutors accused them of accepting about $600,000 from foreign entities in exchange for official acts. Both men denied wrongdoing, and President Trump granted the couple full, unconditional pardons in December 2025, 13 months after Cuellar won his 11th term in the House.