Voters in the 11th Congressional District on Thursday will decide on the Democratic nominee to replace Gov. Mikie Sherrill in the House of Representatives.
The race is a crowded one, with 11 Democrats vying for the chance to succeed Sherrill, who stepped down from the House after she was elected governor in November.
The candidates are Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, U.S. Army veteran Zachary Beecher, attorney J-L Cauvin, former Obama White House staffer Cammie Croft, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, Morris Township Deputy Mayor Jeff Grayzel, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, activist Analilia Mejia, Chatham Borough Councilman and U.S. Army veteran Justin Strickland, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, and activist Anna Lee Williams.
The district includes towns in Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.
Outside groups pour millions into NJ special election
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway in the special election on Thursday, April 16. Hathaway is the only Republican in the race.
Much of the campaign on the Democratic side has focused on President Donald Trump.
In the final days of the race, Malinowski, who represented the 7th Congressional District in Congress for two terms before voters ousted him in 2022, has been the target of millions of dollars in outside spending attacking him for voting “with Trump” to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (referencing an emergency appropriations bill in 2019 that received bipartisan support and included humanitarian aid and funding for federal agencies).
Gill has also targeted ICE, appearing with his wife, Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill, the first Colombian American to serve in the New Jersey Legislature, in ads saying Trump’s mass deportation push has their teen daughter terrified.
Way has touted her fight with the Trump administration over the state’s 2020 move to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters (Way, as secretary of state, oversaw elections). The Trump campaign sued New Jersey to stop the ballots from going out, but a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit before that year’s presidential race.
Mejia is positioning herself as the most progressive voice in the race, winning endorsements from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others. Mejia’s campaign touted a virtual event with Sanders on Monday touted as a “Stay Warm & Melt ICE” rally.
Polls close at 8 p.m.
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