Democrat Analilia Mejia defeats Republican Joe Hathaway in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District special election. Here’s why it matters

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Progressive Democrat Analilia Mejia has defeated Republican Joe Hathaway and independent Alan Bond in Thursday’s special election to fill New Jersey’s 11th Congressional seat, which was vacated by Mikie Sherrill last November, after she was elected governor.

With 16% of the ballots tabulated, the Associated Press projected Mejia the winner at 8:07 p.m., Thursday night.

The 11th Congressional District includes portions of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.

Mejia, the former head of the NJ Working Families Alliance, defeated 10 other candidates in the Democratic primary election in February, including former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way.

She was initially backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. But after an upset primary win over Malinowski, Mejia emerged as the Democratic candidate and won the support of her fellow New Jersey Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, as well as Sherrill, who campaigned for Mejia in her home district last weekend.

Hathaway was endorsed by political and community leaders in the district, close to two dozen Republican state legislators, mayors, council members and the Morris County sheriff.

The 11th District race was considered a bellwether for the upcoming November midterm elections because it features a mix of suburban and urban areas with diverse voters, making it a good gauge of national trends. Some political observers believe the contest could signal who might control Congress and how voters feel about current issues.

During the campaign, Mejia focused on abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, protecting reproductive rights, access to health care and supporting working families. Hathaway, who is currently serving on the Randolph Township Council, ran on a platform of lower taxes, fiscal responsibility and supporting local communities.

There are more than 600,000 registered voters in 11th Congressional District. Approximately 225,000 people are registered Democrats, 164,000 are Republicans and 205,000 are unaffiliated.

Mejia will now serve out the remainder of the term, which ends in January. That means she must run again for the congressional seat in the November general election. Hathaway is expected to also run again in the fall.