Mejía, Hathaway clash in New Jersey race to fill Sherrill’s House seat: What to know

Voters in northern New Jersey will head to the polls Thursday to decide who should fill Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D) former House seat for the remainder of the year.

Republican Joe Hathaway, a councilman in Randolph, N.J., is running against former Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) campaign aide Analilia Mejia (D) and independent Alan Bond, who previously worked on Wall Street and served time in prison for defrauding clients.

The special election will have implications for House Republicans and their slim majority while also serving as a potential bellwether for Democratic voter enthusiasm as the 2026 midterm season ramps up.

Here’s what to know about Thursday’s race:

Democrats boast edge in early voting

Absentee and early voting numbers ahead of the Thursday election indicate Democrats already enjoy an edge heading into the election.  

As of Monday, figures compiled by firm L2 Data showed that 65 percent of early or absentee voters were Democrats. Twenty percent of voters were Republican while 14 percent were non-partisan.

The co-founder of Vote Hub, who is the anonymous @umichvoter on the social platform X, also reported similar data two days ahead of the election. Nearly 62 percent of voters casting early or absentee ballots were Democrats, while 25 percent were Republicans and 14 percent were unaffiliated with either party.

This isn’t entirely surprising given Vice President Harris won Sherrill’s former seat, which spans portions of the Essex, Passaic and Morris counties, by close to 9 percentage points in 2024, according to The Downballot. The New Jersey governor, meanwhile, won her reelection that same year by close to 15 points. 

Still, Democratic strategists and political observers are closely watching to see whether Mejia overperforms, as the party looks for signs of enthusiasm ahead of the November midterm elections.

Republican turnout will likely improve Thursday as the party tends to do better with in-person voting.

Contest turns testy between Mejia, Hathaway

The race has become contentious between the Democratic and Republican candidates, notably during their first and only debate earlier this month.

Hathaway described Mejia as antisemitic over her views on Israel, including that the country has committed a genocide in Gaza, at the April 1 debate sponsored by the New Jersey Globe and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University. He also characterized her as a “socialist” and “radical” over her progressive policy views.

“There are many, many Democrats who are very concerned about Analilia’s positions, whether it’s her socialist economic policies, her anti-law enforcement positions, or probably most starkly highlighted in this race has been her extreme antisemitic rhetoric against the Jewish people and the state of Israel,” Hathaway told The Hill in an interview last week, noting the district’s large Jewish population.

During the debate, Mejia rebuffed Hathaway’s accusations and characterized the Randolph councilman as a supporter of President Trump who “will vote in lockstep with the very same people who are making your daily life increasingly unaffordable and have thrown us into a reckless war.” 

In an interview with The Hill last week, she echoed this view, suggesting that Hathaway will be a “yes-man” for the president if he were to be elected.

“The bottom line is that in order to take away another rubber stamp in Congress, or potential rubber stamp in Congress for Donald Trump, we need to show out in full force this upcoming Thursday,” Mejia said. 

Israel remains key flashpoint

Israel and the war in Gaza have remained a focal point in the contest, particularly after the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) super PAC waded into the Democratic primary this winter.

Hathaway has pointed to Mejia’s views on Israel, emphasizing an instance at a party forum earlier this year when the Democratic candidate did not raise her hand in support of a question about whether Jewish people have the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland.

“It’s very hard to unpack the nuance on what are very difficult and complicated questions” during campaign events and “compressed timelines,” Mejia told The Hill on her Israel views.

During the April debate, Mejia argued there is a difference between criticizing a country’s leader over a country and its people as a whole, noting her disapproval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Joe Hathaway can traffic in all of … the hatred and fear mongering and tropes that he wishes,” she told The Hill. “But the truth is, do we not want a member of Congress who will uphold international law? Do we not want a member of Congress who is willing to stand up to its own — to our own nation and allies, and say we must uphold the Geneva Convention?”

The progressive vowed that, if elected, she would “use every legislative power at my disposal to protect the rights of Jewish constituents and convene spaces to educate and to fight antisemitism” as a member of Congress.

Progressives likely to notch another win

Strategists from both sides of the aisle expect an easy win for Mejia on Thursday, citing the district’s blue tilt as well as Democratic victories and overperformances up and down the ballot in recent months.

Democrats have largely coalesced around the progressive, including Sherrill as well as primary opponent former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), in the race.

Mijia’s primary victory against Malinowski, who was seen as the front runner, marked another win for the progressive wing of the party, which has notched wins in New York and Illinois in the last year.

Philip Alagia, a Democratic strategist who initially backed Essexx County Executive Brendan Gill in the party primary, said he does not expect her left leanings to hurt her candidacy among more moderate Democrats.

“I think this is going to be a generic Democrat versus Republican race,” he added.   

Slim House GOP majority expected to shrink

A Mejia victory on Thursday would chip away at the narrow House GOP majority, bringing the party’s edge to 219-214.

Margins on both sides fluctuated this week on Capitol Hill. Republican Rep. Clay Fuller Ga.) was sworn in Tuesday to fill the remainder former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) seat Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.  

Meanwhile, both Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned Tuesday over sexual misconduct allegations.

Voters in New Jersey, however, will head back to the polls in less than two months to weigh in on the June 2 primary for the House seat up for grabs Thursday, where Mejia and Hathaway are running again for the full two-year term.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Driscoll shuts down social media accounts after post celebrating Duckworth 

Scarborough: US allies ‘very positive’ about US blockade of Strait of Hormuz

Vance tells Pope Leo to ‘be careful’, Homan says ‘leave politics alone’

GOP senator calls on House to impeach Boasberg after contempt hearings halted

Georgia Republican says ouster of Gen. George will have ‘chilling ...

House Democrats file 5 impeachment articles against Hegseth

Leavitt says Interior will submit plans to begin construction of 250ft Trump ...

Iran Embassy in Tajikistan posts AI video of Jesus punching Trump in the face

Report: Cellular modules from Chinese companies in smart home devices are ...

A new Social Security COLA projection may be cause for ‘worry,’ senior ...

Cruz calls Carlson ‘deranged, leftist psycho’ following comments on ...

Bessent says order requiring banks to collect citizenship information ‘in ...

Republican House candidate drops out of Minnesota race for Middle East ...

2028 buzz builds as shadow presidential primary takes shape

Mike Johnson ‘taken aback’ by pope’s comments about war

Trump ‘prepared’ to nominate new Supreme Court justice if Alito, Thomas ...

Andy Beshear makes waves in Democratic circles as Southern moderate

Senate Republicans block fourth attempt to limit Trump’s Iran war powers

© The Hill