2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election

Last updated

2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election
Flag of New Jersey.svg
←  2024
April 16, 2026
Nov 2026  →
New Jersey's 11th congressional district
 
NomineeTBDJoe Hathaway
Party Democratic Republican
U.S. Representative before election

Mikie Sherrill
Democratic

Elected U.S. Representative

TBD

The 2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election will be held on April 16, 2026, to fill the vacant seat in New Jersey's 11th congressional district. The winner will serve in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 119th United States Congress.

Contents

Background

The seat became vacant on November 20, 2025, when Mikie Sherrill resigned to become the governor of New Jersey. [1]

A primary will be held on February 5, 2026, with candidates required to file by December 1, 2025. Both the primary and general elections will be preceded by in-person early voting periods: a six-day period prior to the primary (January 29 through February 3) and a nine-day period prior to the general (April 6 through April 14). Voters will also have the option to cast their votes by mail. [2]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrawn

  • Marc Chaaban, former congressional staffer (remaining on ballot, endorsed Mejia) [13] [14]
  • Dean Dafis, Maplewood Township committeeman and former mayor (remaining on ballot, endorsed Gill) [15] [16]

Disqualified

Did not file

Declined

Endorsements

John Bartlett
Local officials
Labor unions
Party branches
Zach Beecher
U.S. senators
Individuals
Labor unions
Organizations
Brendan Gill
Executive branch officials
Statewide officials
State legislators
Local officials
Party officials
Individuals
Party branches
Labor unions
Tom Malinowski
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Local officials
  • Sheena Collum, mayor of South Orange, New Jersey (2015–present) [51]
  • Tracy Toler-Phillips, Bloomfield councilmember (2025–present) [52]
  • Frank Vélez III, Belleville councilmember from the 2nd ward (2024–present) [53]
  • Tracy Juanita Muldrow, Belleville councilmember from the 1st ward (2024–present) [54]
  • Cristina Garro, Belleville board of education trustee (2025–present) [54]
  • Jean Gillis, Belleville board of education trustee (2025–present) [54]
  • Lissa Missaggia, Belleville board of education vice president (2024–present) [54]
  • Nick Scotti, Nutley board of education trustee (2022–present) [54]
Party branches
Labor unions
Organizations
Analilia Mejia
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
Local officials
Individuals
  • Marc Chaaban, former congressional staffer and former candidate for this seat [14]
Political parties
Labor unions
Organizations
Tahesha Way
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Local officials
  • Francine Ritter, councilmember in Wayne (2020–present) [68]
Party branches
Organizations
Declined to endorse
U.S. representatives

County conventions

County convention results
Essex County Democratic convention [39]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Brendan Gill 132 51.5%
Democratic No Endorsement (Abstained)9035.2%
Democratic Tom Malinowski 176.6%
Democratic John Bartlett62.3%
Democratic Dean Dafis41.6%
Democratic Analilia Mejia31.2%
Democratic Tahesha Way 31.2%
Democratic Marc Chaaban10.4%
Democratic Zach Beecher00.0%
Democratic J-L Cauvin 00.0%
Democratic Cammie Croft00.0%
Democratic Justin Strickland00.0%
Democratic Anna Lee Williams00.0%
Total votes256 100.0%
Morris County Democratic convention [70]
CandidateFirst ballotSecond ballotThird ballotFourth ballotFifth ballotSixth ballotSeventh ballotEighth ballotNinth ballot
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
Tom Malinowski 18840.8%18941.0%19241.8%19542.5%19943.4%20544.7%21747.4%22049.1%23552.7%
Brendan Gill11023.9%11023.9%11024.0%11024.0%11024.0%11124.2%11725.6%11726.1%13129.4%
Analilia Mejia367.8%367.8%367.8%367.8%449.6%4710.2%4810.5%6213.8%8017.9%
Tahesha Way 286.1%286.1%286.1%296.3%316.8%367.8%419.0%4910.9%Eliminated
Justin Strickland316.7%316.7%316.8%316.8%327.0%347.4%357.6%Eliminated
John Bartlett224.8%235.0%245.2%255.5%255.5%265.7%Eliminated
Zach Beecher132.8%153.3%153.3%173.7%183.9%Eliminated
Anna Lee Williams81.7%81.7%81.7%81.7%Eliminated
Cammie Croft71.5%81.7%81.7%81.7%Eliminated
Dean Dafis71.5%71.5%71.5%Eliminated
Jeff Grayzel61.3%61.3%Eliminated
J-L Cauvin 51.1%Eliminated
Total ballots [b] 461 ballots459 ballots458 ballots448 ballots446 ballots

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [c] 		Margin
of error		Brendan
Gill		Tom
Malinowski		Analilia
Mejia		Tahesha
Way		OtherUndecided
GQR Research (D) [71] [A] November 19–23, 2025400 (LV)± 5.4%12%28%5%5%5% [d] 31%

Results

Democratic primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic John Bartlett
Democratic Zach Beecher
Democratic J-L Cauvin
Democratic Marc Chaaban (withdrawn)
Democratic Cammie Croft
Democratic Dean Dafis (withdrawn)
Democratic Brendan Gill
Democratic Tom Malinowski
Democratic Analilia Mejia
Democratic Justin Strickland
Democratic Tahesha Way
Democratic Anna Lee Williams
Total votes

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Endorsements

Joe Hathaway
State legislators
Local officials

Results

Republican primary results
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Joe Hathaway
Total votes

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [74] Safe DDecember 14, 2025

Notes

  1. ↑ Belleville, Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, East Orange, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Millburn, Nutley, Roseland, South Orange, West Caldwell, West Orange
  2. ↑ 2 delegates abstained
  3. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  4. ↑ Bartlett and Grayzel with 2%; Beecher with 1%
Partisan clients
  1. ↑ Poll sponsored by Malinowski's campaign

References

  1. ↑ Wildstein, David (November 20, 2025). "Mikie Sherrill is now a former congresswoman as N.J. awaits writ of special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  2. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 21, 2025). "Murphy sets February 5 primary, April 16 general for NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  3. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 5, 2025). "With Sherrill now governor-elect, John Bartlett will run for her House seat". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  4. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 17, 2025). "Zach Beecher launches campaign for NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 21, 2025). "Trump impersonator wants to fight back against Trump as next NJ-11 congressman". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Fox, Joey (November 5, 2025). "Grayzel, Croft, Hathaway confirm they're in for special election to succeed Sherrill". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 6, 2025). "Brendan Gill enters race for Sherrill's House seat, with huge array of Dems already behind him". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  8. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 6, 2025). "Tom Malinowski makes it official: He's running to succeed Mikie Sherrill". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Fox, Joey (November 25, 2025). "Analilia Mejia will run for NJ-11 with backing from Bernie Sanders". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  10. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 11, 2025). "Chatham councilman joins Democratic field in NJ-11". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Fox, Joey (December 2, 2025). "Tahesha Way makes formal entrance into NJ-11 race with major endorsements in hand". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  12. ↑ Fox, Joey (July 21, 2025). "Anna Lee Williams becomes first Democrat to enter race for NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  13. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 3, 2025). "Chaaban exits NJ-11 race, citing short timeframe, Essex convention results". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  14. 1 2 Wildstein, David (December 4, 2025). "Mejia endorsed by ex-rival in race for Sherrill NJ-11 seat". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  15. ↑ Fox, Joey (January 8, 2026). "Dafis withdraws from NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 Fox, Joey (January 15, 2026). "After ending his own NJ-11 campaign, Dafis endorses Gill instead". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  17. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 1, 2025). "Cresitello fails to reach ballot in NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  18. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 1, 2025). "Thirteen Democrats, one Republican file to make NJ-11 special election ballot". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  19. ↑ @wildstein (November 13, 2025). "Not every Murphy cabinet member is running for Congress: Attorney General Matt Platkin told me he never considered running for Mikie Sherrill's NJ-11 congressional seat" (Tweet). Retrieved November 13, 2025– via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 23, 2025). "Little Falls mayor backs Bartlett for NJ-11 special". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  21. 1 2 Fox, Joey (November 24, 2025). "Port Authority PBA endorses Bartlett in NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Damiano Team and Little Falls Democratic Committee Chairman Endorse John Bartlett for Congress for New Jersey's 11th Congressional District in Democratic Primary". December 23, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  23. 1 2 Wildstein, David (December 3, 2025). "Passaic Dems give party slogan to Way, Bartlett in NJ-11 special primary". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Medal of Honor Recipient and Former Senator Bob Kerrey Endorses Zach Beecher for NJ-11". December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  25. 1 2 Fox, Joey (January 7, 2026). "Another deep-pocketed national veterans group endorses Beecher for NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  26. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 11, 2025). "Beecher's NJ-11 campaign endorsed by National Association of Government Employees". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  27. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 8, 2025). "Beecher endorsed by veterans group that spent heavily in past N.J. races". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  28. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 20, 2025). "Gill endorsed by Obama-era Homeland Security Secretary". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  29. 1 2 3 "Over Fifty Trailblazing Women Leaders Stand with Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill for Congress". December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  30. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 17, 2025). "Phil Murphy backs Brendan Gill, his old campaign manager, in NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Fox, Joey (November 6, 2025). "Brendan Gill enters race for Sherrill's House seat, with huge array of Dems already behind him". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  32. 1 2 Fox, Joey (January 14, 2026). "Essex-West Hudson Labor Council endorses Gill for NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  33. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 20, 2025). "Teresa Ruiz backs Brendan Gill in NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  34. ↑ "The Family of the Late Congressman Donald Payne Jr. Endorses Brendan Gill for Congress". Insider NJ. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  35. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 1, 2025). "Joe D endorses Brendan G in NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  36. 1 2 Fox, Joey (November 25, 2025). "IBEW Local 164 endorses Gill for NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  37. 1 2 3 4 Fox, Joey (January 6, 2026). "Teamsters go for Brendan Gill". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  38. 1 2 Fox, Joey (December 17, 2025). "Longshoremen back Gill in NJ-11 special". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  39. 1 2 Fox, Joey (December 3, 2025). "Brendan Gill wins Essex Democratic endorsement after tangled virtual convention". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  40. ↑ Fox, Joey (January 8, 2026). "Amalgamated Transit Union NJ State Council backs Gill". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  41. 1 2 Fox, Joey (December 4, 2025). "Gill gets two more labor endorsements for NJ-11 bid". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  42. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 21, 2025). "N.J. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers endorses Brendan Gill". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  43. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 17, 2025). "CWA Local 1031 backs Gill in NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  44. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 13, 2025). "Brendan Gill picks up endorsement from Hotel & Gaming Trades Council". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  45. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 1, 2025). "SMART Local 25 endorses Brendan Gill". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  46. 1 2 3 4 Fox, Joey (December 22, 2025). "Mejia gets more labor endorsements from CWA District 1, Rutgers faculty unions". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  47. ↑ "Labor Leader Hall Backs Gill in CD-11". November 12, 2025. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  48. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 16, 2025). "UFCW endorses Gill for NJ-11". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  49. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 17, 2025). "Tom Malinowski's comeback campaign earns endorsement from Andy Kim". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  50. ↑ Dreyfuss, Bob; Dreyfuss, Barbara (December 15, 2025). "Brendan Gill, Ultimate Insider, Will Bring Jersey's 'Boss' Politics to D.C." Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  51. ↑ Wildstein, David (December 30, 2025). "Sheena Collum endorses Malinowski for Congress". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  52. ↑ Fox, Joey (January 13, 2026). "Bloomfield councilwoman endorses Malinowski". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  53. ↑ Fox, Joey (January 9, 2026). "NJ-11 battle lines are drawn in Belleville". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 "Malinowski Campaign Builds Momentum in Essex County with Belleville and Nutley Endorsements". InsiderNJ. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
  55. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 15, 2025). "Morris Dems vote to endorse Malinowski". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  56. ↑ "Tom Malinowski". JStreetPAC. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  57. 1 2 3 Friedman, Matt (December 19, 2025). "The Platkin sendoff". Politico . Retrieved December 23, 2025.
  58. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 27, 2025). "Ro Khanna endorses Analilia Mejia in NJ-11". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  59. ↑ Nieto-Muñoz, Sophie (January 15, 2026). "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorses Analilia Mejia in special House race". New Jersey Monitor . Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  60. ↑ "Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Endorses Analilia Mejia For Congress". December 15, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  61. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 5, 2025). "Mejia gets official endorsement from Baraka for NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  62. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 18, 2025). "Mejia endorsed by Working Families Party, further consolidating progressive lane". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  63. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 10, 2025). "Mejia gets backing from CWA Local 1037". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  64. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 10, 2025). "32BJ SEIU backs Mejia for NJ-11 special election". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  65. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 8, 2025). "SEIU State Council endorses Analilia Mejia, a former SEIU organizer". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  66. 1 2 Fox, Joey (December 19, 2025). "NJ Citizen Action endorses Mejia". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  67. ↑ "Congressional Black Caucus PAC Endorses Tahesha Way for Congress". December 2, 2025. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  68. 1 2 3 4 5 Fox, Joey (January 9, 2026). "Way picks up new support as part of 'Women for Tahesha Way' coalition". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  69. ↑ Blackburn, Zach; Fox, Joey (November 5, 2025). "Murphy wants legislature to address 'cumbersome' special election schedule for Sherrill's House seat". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  70. ↑ "Morris County CD11 Special Convention". December 15, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  71. ↑ Fox, Joey (December 2, 2025). "Malinowski's internal polling gives him early edge in packed NJ-11 primary". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  72. ↑ Fox, Joey (November 21, 2025). "Brian Bergen will support Joe Hathaway in NJ-11 special". New Jersey Globe . Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Joe Hathaway for Congress Announces Second Wave of Endorsements". InsiderNJ. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  74. ↑ "Digging Deeper into Virginia, New Jersey Returns: Missing Nonwhite Trump Voters? Changing Coalitions in New Jersey, and More". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
Official campaign sites
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.