Democrat Analilia Mejia won the special election Thursday for the 11th District Congressional seat vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who resigned from Congress in November after her gubernatorial victory.
Mejia, the former head of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance and an ally of Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, defeated Republican Joe Hathway, a Randolph councilman and former mayor, by 59.5% to 40% vote margin, according to the Associated Press. The seat’s unexpired term ends in January.
The predominantly suburban 11th District, which covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, was a longtime Republican stronghold but has become increasingly Democratic in the past decade. Sherrill first won the seat in 2018’s midterm elections, when Democrats flipped dozens of seats to take control of Congress. In 2024, Sherrill won reelection by about 15 points.
Mejia, 48, of Glen Ridge, emerged from a crowded Democratic primary field of 11 candidates, which included former Rep. Tom Malinowski and former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, to become the party’s standard-bearer in February. Mejia cast the race as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s leadership, and she campaigned on progressive economic and social policies.
As the former leader of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, Mejia led campaigns for the $15 minimum wage and paid sick leave. She later was the national political director for Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and served in the Department of Labor under President Joe Biden.
In addition to support from Sanders, Mejia also had endorsements from New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Sanders congratulated Mejia in a social media post Thursday night.
“Analilia will be a great progressive addition to the House in the fight for economic, racial, social and environmental justice,” Sanders wrote.
Both Mejia and Hathaway will likely face each other again in November when the election is held for the next full two-year congressional term, which begins in January 2027. Democrat and Republican primaries for that two-year term will be held in June.
