Polls are open in the special election to decide who will replace Gov. Mikie Sherrill in the House of Representatives.
Sherrill, a Democrat, left the 11th Congressional District’s House seat vacant when she resigned from Congress following last year’s gubernatorial race, and the winner of Thursday’s election will take her place until the term expires in January. The candidates are Republican Joe Hathaway, a Randolph councilman; Democrat Analilia Mejia, the national political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign; and independent candidate Alan Bond.
Democrats in crowded House race debate affordability, housing
Much of the campaign has focused on affordability under President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. Mejia has attacked the president’s immigration agenda, Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, and now, Trump’s war in Iran. Hathaway has called Mejia a socialist and an antisemite, and has claimed he would act independently from Trump.
The Democratic-leaning district includes towns in Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.
Mejia won the special Democratic primary in February against a crowded field of candidates that included former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski. Her win stunned much of the political establishment, and it came after a super PAC linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent millions tying Malinowski to Trump’s deportation effort. Malinowski, who came in second place in the primary, has since endorsed Mejia and appeared with her on the campaign trail.
Hathaway ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.
More than 50,000 votes have already been cast. Polling locations can be found on the state Division of Elections website. Polls close at 8 p.m.
Political experts see this race as an early test of voter sentiment ahead of the midterm elections in November.
No matter who wins Thursday, Hathaway and Mejia will be on the ballot again in June’s regular primary as they seek the 11th District House seat for the two-year term that begins in January.
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