Early in-person voting begins in NJ special election to fill Gov. Sherrill’s seat

Early in-person voting is underway in the special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

The race pits progressive Democrat Analilia Mejia against small town Republican mayor Joe Hathaway. Mejia defeated a field of 10 other Democrats — including several better-funded, well-known establishment political figures in the state — in an upset primary victory earlier this year. Hathaway ran unopposed in the primary. The district has generally been considered a safe bet for Democrats since its borders were redrawn after the last Census, but Hathaway has tried to paint Mejia as too left-leaning for its voters.

Election Day is April 16. The result will serve as another indicator of how voters are leaning ahead of this year's midterm elections, which will determine which party controls the levers of power in Congress.

Democrats have momentum. They recently flipped state Senate seats in parts of deep-red Texas, Arkansas and a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago. The party is hoping for a blue wave in November fueled by voter dissatisfaction with Trump. His approval ratings with key voting blocs like independents and moderates are worse than President Richard Nixon’s post-Watergate.

The race in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District is a unique test of that Democratic strength. Mejia’s platform on issues like immigration and health care could prove too far left for voters in the moderate suburban North Jersey district, located about an hour from New York City. Hathaway has tried to characterize his opponent as an extreme socialist while also criticizing many of Trump’s policies.

Mejia enters this crucial week of early voting with a substantial lead in the votes that have already been counted. A review of data released by the New Jersey Division of Elections shows that Democrats have returned vote-by-mail ballots by a margin of more than 3 to 1 compared to Republicans.

Early in-person voting ends on April 14. Voters can also submit mail-in ballots until Election Day. They must be postmarked by April 16 in order to be counted.

Here’s where the candidates stand:

Analilia Mejia

Mejia was virtually unknown to most voters when she entered the primary last year, but she’s far from being a political outsider in the state.

Before running, Mejia was the head of the New Jersey Working Families Party. Throughout her campaign, she has touted her work to get legislation passed, including a bill that raised the state’s minimum wage to $15. She also served as political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign. Sanders endorsed Mejia during the primary, as did other well-known national progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Mejia carved out a progressive lane in a crowded primary. She ran further to the left on several key issues than all her competitors. She called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and impeaching U.S. Supreme Court justices over corruption allegations, and was the only candidate to call Israel's war in Gaza a genocide.

Mejia’s win surprised the party and political observers. Former Rep. Tom Malinowski appeared to have a significant early lead on election night — so much so that some media outlets called the race for him. But as the night wore on, and more votes were counted, Mejia closed the gap and declarations of a Malinowski win were retracted. Malinowski conceded to Mejia several days later, handing her the nomination.

Joe Hathaway

Hathaway was the only Republican to enter the race, and his campaign has been overshadowed by the crowded Democratic primary and Mejia’s upset victory.

Hathaway's willingness to criticize Trump is rare among Republicans. He accused the president of using New Jersey as a “pawn” when he froze $1 billion in funding for the Gateway Tunnel project between New York and New Jersey.

Hathaway has also joined the outcry against the Trump administration’s plan to open an ICE detention center in Roxbury, New Jersey, located just outside the 11th District. And he has taken a position similar to several moderate Democrats on ICE reform, saying he favors banning immigration agents from wearing masks and equipping them with body-worn cameras.

Hathaway will need to flip a sizable number of Democrats to his side in order to win. Recent voter registration data shows that registered Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district by more than 64,000 voters.

The winner will only hold the job until the term expires in roughly eight months. To keep the seat, they will have to run again in November’s midterm elections and could face primary challengers in June.