Voters in the 11th Congressional District will decide Thursday which major party candidates will compete in April to finish the term vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
The special primary election has a crowded field of 13 Democrats. That party was favored in the redrawn district, where Sherrill won a second term by 15 points in 2024. The winner will face sole Republican Joe Hathaway, who is the Randolph mayor, and any independents in the April 16 special general election. The term expires on Jan. 3.
Polls will be open 6 a.m.-8 p.m. NJ Spotlight News will post results on Thursday night.
Close to 34,000 voters cast ballots early in the Essex, Morris and Passaic county towns within the district, an NJ Spotlight News analysis found. More than 83% were Democrats.
Early in-person voting ended Tuesday. To be counted, mail-in ballots must be placed in a drop box in the voter’s home county or brought to a post office counter to be postmarked by 8 p.m. Thursday.
The leading Democrats are former 7th District Representative Tom Malinowski, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, activist Analilia Mejia, and former Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way. The other candidates are: John Bartlett, a Passaic County commissioner; Zachary Beecher, a member of the Army Reserve from Morristown; J-L Cauvin, a community advocate, lawyer and professional comedian from Bloomfield; Cammie Croft, who served in the Obama administration and worked for Amnesty International; Jeff Grayzel, a Morris Township committee member; Justin Strickland, a Chatham councilman and former Army captain; and Anna Lee Williams, a social justice activist who lives in Morristown. Dean Dafis and Marc Chaaban both filed petitions but suspended their campaigns.
A voter guide examines the district and race, and includes NJ Spotlight questionnaire responses from the seven Democrats who participated.
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