Progressive Democrat Analilia Mejia won a decisive victory in Thursday’s special election for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race at 8:07 p.m. with just 25% of votes counted, reflecting the scale of the margin.
Why it matters
The result further shrinks the Republican majority in the US House. With every seat now critical to passing legislation, Democrats gain additional leverage on upcoming votes over defence spending, immigration, and war powers — issues where small numbers of Republican defectors can change the outcome.
The result
Mejia held roughly 69% of the vote with more than 90% of ballots counted late Thursday, leading Republican Joe Hathaway by approximately 35 percentage points. Remaining mail-in ballots, which favoured Mejia by an even larger margin, will be counted through next Wednesday.
Independent candidate Alan Bond received a small share of the vote.
The candidates
Mejia, 47, served as co-executive director of the Centre for Popular Democracy, a progressive advocacy organisation. She campaigned on healthcare access, reproductive rights, and opposition to the Trump administration’s domestic agenda.
Hathaway, a Randolph township councillor and former mayor, ran uncontested in the Republican primary. He focused on immigration enforcement and economic growth.
The district
New Jersey’s 11th District covers suburban communities in Morris, Essex, Sussex, and Passaic counties northwest of New York City. Former Representative Mikie Sherrill held the seat from 2019 until she won the governor’s race in November 2025.
The district has trended Democratic in recent cycles, and Sherrill won her final re-election in 2024 by a comfortable margin.
What comes next
Mejia will serve until 3 January 2027. Both parties will contest the seat again in the November midterm elections, when the full 435-member House is on the ballot.