From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election
The 2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election was 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.
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| This article documents a current election. Information may change rapidly as the election progresses until official results have been published. Initial news reports may be unreliable, and the last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. Please feel free to improve this article or discuss changes on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The 2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election was 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.
The seat became vacant on November 20, 2025, when Mikie Sherrill resigned to become the governor of New Jersey. Outgoing governor Phil Murphy announced the special election scheduled for April 16, 2026. Early voting took place from April 6 to April 14. Voters will have the option to cast their votes by mail.
Primary elections were held on February 5, 2026. Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, won the Democratic nomination. Randolph councilman and former mayor Joe Hathaway was uncontested and thus won the Republican nomination. Mejia would then go on to win the special election.
Spending by AIPAC against former U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski became a major issue in the primary. Although Malinowski identified as a pro-Israel Democrat, the group funded negative advertising after he declined to unconditionally support foreign military aid. The ads may have inadvertently boosted eventual nominee Analilia Mejia, who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Following his defeat, Malinowski sharply criticized AIPAC, calling its campaign "dishonest" and pledging to oppose any AIPAC-backed challenger to Mejia in the June primary for the full term.
Mejia has called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and has advocated resistance to what she describes as "rising authoritarianism".
The Associated Press and The New York Times called the race for Mejia on February 12, 2026, defeating Malinowski and former Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way.
-
Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy
-
John Bartlett, Passaic County commissioner and candidate for this district in 2018
-
Zach Beecher, venture capitalist
-
J-L Cauvin, attorney and comedian
-
Cammie Croft, nonprofit executive and former White House deputy new media director
-
Brendan Gill, at-large Essex County commissioner, husband of state assemblymember Alixon Collazos-Gill, and candidate for New Jersey's 27th assembly district in 2023
-
Jeff Grayzel, deputy mayor of Morris Township and nominee for New Jersey's 25th senate district in 2021
-
Tom Malinowski, former chair of the Hunterdon County Democratic Party (2024–2025) and former U.S. representative from the 7th district (2019–2023)
-
Justin Strickland, Chatham Borough councilmember
-
Tahesha Way, former lieutenant governor (2023–2026) and secretary of state of New Jersey (2018–2026)
-
Anna Lee Williams, corporate social responsibility manager
-
Marc Chaaban, former congressional staffer (remained on ballot, endorsed Mejia)
-
Dean Dafis, Maplewood Township committeeman and former mayor (remained on ballot, endorsed Gill)
-
Donald Cresitello, former mayor of Morristown (1977–1981, 2006–2010) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1982 and 2008
-
Kennedy Pivnick, former legal intern at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
-
Matthew Platkin, attorney general of New Jersey (2022–2026)
Democratic county party endorsements.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Gill Malinowski Co-endorsement of Bartlett and Way
| Campaign finance reports as of January 16, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| John Bartlett (D) | $465,705 | $394,510 | $260,855 |
| Zach Beecher (D) | $504,638 | $293,417 | $211,221 |
| J-L Cauvin (D) | $100,000 | $30,896 | $69,103 |
| Cammie Croft (D) | $372,317 | $239,229 | $133,088 |
| Brendan Gill (D) | $808,103 | $460,108 | $347,995 |
| Jeff Grayzel (D) | $428,173 | $351,604 | $76,569 |
| Tom Malinowski (D) | $1,161,127 | $756,929 | $404,197 |
| Analilia Mejia (D) | $420,218 | $62,097 | $358,120 |
| Justin Strickland (D) | $70,012 | $67,836 | $2,175 |
| Tahesha Way (D) | $404,541 | $319,178 | $85,363 |
| Anna Lee Williams (D) | $26,422 | $18,249 | $8,172 |
| Poll source | Date(s)administered | Samplesize | Marginof error | BrendanGill | TomMalinowski | AnaliliaMejia | TaheshaWay | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GQR Research (D) | November 19–23, 2025 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.4% | 12% | 28% | 5% | 5% | 19% | 31% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 19,789 | 29.33 | |
| Democratic | 18,603 | 27.57 | |
| Democratic | 11,737 | 17.40 | |
| Democratic | 9,556 | 14.16 | |
| Democratic | 1,825 | 2.71 | |
| Democratic | 1,391 | 2.06 | |
| Democratic | 1,311 | 1.94 | |
| Democratic | 1,310 | 1.94 | |
| Democratic | 719 | 1.07 | |
| Democratic | 528 | 0.78 | |
| Democratic | 293 | 0.43 | |
| Democratic | 280 | 0.42 | |
| Democratic | 123 | 0.18 | |
| 67,465 | 100.00 |
- Joe Hathaway, Randolph Township Council member and former mayor
| Campaign finance reports as of January 16, 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Hathaway (R) | $260,813 | $98,933 | $161,879 |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | 14,616 | 100.00 | |
| 14,616 | 100.00 |
- Alan Bond (Hope For Tomorrow!), former money manager
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | December 14, 2025 |
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Democratic | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2026 | New Jersey GlobeThe Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University | Joey Fox | YouTubeC-SPAN | P | P |
| Poll source | Date(s)administered | Samplesize | Marginof error | AnaliliaMejia (D) | JoeHathaway (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GBAO (D) | March 8–10, 2026 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 53% | 36% | 11% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||
| Republican | |||
| Hope For Tomorrow! | |||
| 100.00 | |||
| County | Analilia MejiaDemocratic | Joe HathawayRepublican | Alan BondIndependent | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex (part) | |||||||||
| Morris (part) | |||||||||
| Passaic (part) |
- 2026 United States House of Representatives elections
- List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
- List of United States representatives from New Jersey
- 119th United States Congress
Partisan clients
Official campaign sites
- Alan Bond (I)
- Joe Hathaway (R)
- Analilia Mejia (D)
Ask Mako anything about 2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report