Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver cruised to a second full time period representing New Jersey’s tenth Congressional District Tuesday, despite dealing with federal legal costs over a confrontation with immigration officers last yr — and giving delivery to her second baby just weeks before Election Day.

The Newark Democrat defeated Republican challenger Carmen Bucco in a rematch of their 2024 contest in the closely Democratic district.

McIver garnered about 86% of the vote to Bucco’s 13% with about a third of the ballots counted as of 8:30 pm EST.

LaMonica McIver speaks on the Global Black Economic Forum Stage during the ESSENCE Festival of Culture introduced by Coca-Cola at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Saturday, July 4, 2026, in New Orleans. Getty Images for ESSENCE

McIver, 40, has been preventing to keep away from trial over an encounter with federal officers at the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in May 2025.

The congresswoman and two other Democratic lawmakers were visiting the facility for an oversight inspection when a protest erupted outside. Prosecutors accused McIver of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officers.

McIver has denied wrongdoing and argued that her prosecution violates constitutional protections for lawmakers performing their official duties.

A federal appeals court docket in August allowed two counts against her to proceed while sending a third back to a decrease court docket for further assessment. She subsequently requested the full appeals court docket to rethink the ruling.

The authorized battle continued as McIver welcomed her second baby, a child woman, on Oct. 1.

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was arrested at the Delancey Hall ICE detention facility, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Newark, N.J. U.S District Court for the District of New Jersey

McIver entered Congress in 2024 following the demise of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ). She beforehand spent six yr’s on Newark’s Municipal Council, the last two as its president.

Bucco, a small-business proprietor from Kenilworth, has sat on the Belleville Board of Education in addition to making two runs for Congress. The Republican, who grew up in foster care, has highlighted support for regulation enforcement, public security and eliminating authorities corruption.

Carmen Bucco, from Kenilworth, simply lost in the closely Democratic NJ-10. Carmen Bucco

McIver’s victory provides another chapter to the historical past of federal lawmakers who have confronted legal costs while serving in Congress.

Former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the onetime 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 appearing as a international agent.

Prosecutors said Menendez accepted money, gold bars and other valuables in alternate for political favors. He was sentenced to 11 years in jail in January 2025.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, (D-Texas) also confronted federal bribery and foreign-influence costs alongside his spouse after prosecutors alleged they accepted roughly $600,000 from international entities in alternate for official acts. Both denied wrongdoing and President Trump granted the couple full, unconditional pardons in December 2025, 13 months after Cuellar won an eleventh House time period.