There’s some street buzz about the possibility of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka ally Central Ward Councilwoman Lamonica McIver taking a future shot at the congressional seat currently occupied by U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-10).

“I don’t think she’d take him on,” the source told InsiderNJ, when asked if he sensed a developing 2020 Democratic Primary.

The Newark mayor (or a political friend like McIver) wouldn’t try to take out the congressman – a second source confirmed that – and there is no sign of the congressman sun-setting. But in the event that Payne ever retired, McIver would take a hard look at the seat, the source said.

She has to first win reelection, a second source said, but acknowledged some grooming going on early.

“I think Ras is looking at someone like AOC [Alexandra Ocasio Cortez] and thinking, ‘I’m smarter than that. I can do that,'” the source said. “Since he’s gotten reelected you’ve seen a subtle shift in the administration, and the mayor is definitely occupying the AOC-wing of the party.”

Baraka, for example, backed the reelection of Democratic State Committee Chair John Currie over a fledgling challenge by his own county chairman, Essex County boss Leroy Jones. While his choice for chair affirmed his reliance on an alliance with Governor Phil Murphy for state aid, it also underscored Baraka’s comfort zone with the progressive wing of the party.

But it’s McIver, not Baraka, who would take the more likely crack at the seat in the event of a Payne departure.