Progressive Democrat Analilia Mejia won the April 16 special election for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway and flipping a major focus of national attention back onto North Jersey politics. The Associated Press called the race at 8:07 p.m., just over an hour after polls closed.
With 94 percent of votes counted, Mejia led with 77,620 votes, or 59.5 percent, to Hathaway’s 52,122, or 40.0 percent. Independent candidate Alan Bond trailed with 596 votes, or 0.5 percent.
The seat, which covers parts of Morris, Essex, and Passaic counties, was left open when former Rep. Mikie Sherrill was sworn in as governor last November. Mejia, a former national political director for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and former head of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, will fill the remainder of Sherrill’s term through January. Her win narrows the Republican House majority to 218 to 214.
Hathaway, a Randolph Township Council member and former aide to Gov. Chris Christie, ran as a moderate Republican and was endorsed by the Morris County sheriff along with roughly two dozen Republican state legislators, mayors, and council members across the district. Mejia picked up endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Andy Kim, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She also outraised Hathaway by roughly 2 to 1 heading into Election Day.
Mejia emerged from a crowded 11 candidate Democratic primary in February, narrowly beating former Rep. Tom Malinowski after a wave of outside spending from an AIPAC aligned super PAC against Malinowski appeared to energize progressive voters in her favor.
The 11th District has shifted steadily Democratic over the past decade. Vice President Kamala Harris carried it by about 9 points in 2024, and Sherrill won her House re-election that year with 56 percent of the vote. Mejia and Hathaway could meet again in November’s general election for a full two-year term.
