New Jersey House Primary Remains Undecided as Mail-In Ballots Loom Large
The race to fill New Jersey’s vacant 11th Congressional District seat remains too close to call as of thursday, with a former U.S. Representative and a onetime political director for Senator Bernie Sanders locked in a tight contest. The special election was triggered after Mikie Sherrill was elected governor of the state.
the outcome hinges on the processing of remaining mail-in ballots, a significant factor in New Jersey elections.Former U.S.Rep. Tom Malinowski initially led on election night, fueled by early returns from mail-in votes, but the gap narrowed considerably as votes cast in person on election day were tallied.
With over 61,000 votes counted, Analilia Mejia currently leads Malinowski by a mere 486 votes – a margin of less than one percentage point. Election officials report that all three counties within the district still have mail-in ballots to process, and ballots postmarked by election day can arrive as late as Wednesday and still be included in the final count. Notably, Malinowski performed better among the mail-in ballots already counted across the three counties, adding to the uncertainty.
The Democratic victor will face Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway in the general election on April 16. Hathaway ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Malinowski previously served two terms in the House of Representatives before losing his reelection bid in a different district in 2022. He secured the endorsement of New jersey Democratic Senator Andy kim, a figure who has garnered support from progressive factions.
Mejia, a former head of the Working Families Alliance in New Jersey and political director for Sanders during his 2020 presidential campaign, also boasts high-profile endorsements. She has received backing from both sanders and U.S. Rep. alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Her experience also includes a role in President Joe Biden’s Labor Department as deputy director of the women’s bureau.
Both Malinowski and Mejia considerably outpaced other candidates in the primary, including Brendan Gill, an Essex County commissioner with ties to former Governor Phil murphy, and Tahesha Way, who served as lieutenant governor and secretary of state under Murphy until recently. Other contenders included John Bartlett, Zach Beecher, J-L Cauvin, Marc Chaaban, Cammie Croft, Dean Dafis, Jeff Grayzel, Justin Strickland, and Anna Lee Williams.
The district encompasses portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey, including affluent suburbs of new York City. The special primary and subsequent general election will determine who completes the remainder of Sherrill’s term, which concludes next January. A regular primary will be held in June, followed by a general election in November for the next two-year term. Sherrill herself, a Democrat, won four terms representing the district, overcoming its past Republican leanings – a shift that began during the first term of President Donald Trump.
Why: A special election was held to fill the vacancy created when Mikie Sherrill was elected governor of New Jersey.
who: The leading candidates are former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski and Analilia Mejia, a former political director for Bernie Sanders. Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway is the Republican candidate.
What: The race is extremely close, with Mejia currently leading Malinowski by 486 votes. The outcome depends on the remaining mail-in ballots.
How did it end?: As of Thursday, the race remains undecided. The final results will be steadfast after all mail-in ballots are processed, with a general election scheduled for April 16th.
