Voters in New Jersey’s 11th District will decide on their next member of Congress in Thursday’s special election to fill the seat formerly held by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

Progressive organizer Analilia Mejia, who clinched the Democratic nomination in a February upset over former Rep. Tom Malinowski, is favored to win the blue-leaning North Jersey district over Republican nominee Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph Township, and independent candidate Alan Bond.

The daughter of Colombian and Dominican immigrants, Mejia worked for the Service Employees International Union before becoming the executive director of New Jersey’s Working Families Party. She then worked for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential bid and in the Labor Department under President Joe Biden.

Her campaign for the 11th District drew strong union support and endorsements from prominent progressives, including Sanders, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar.

Mejia has easily outpaced Hathaway in fundraising, with federal filings showing she raised $1.1 million through March 27 and ended the pre-general filing period with $374,000 in the bank. Hathaway raised $525,000, according to his Federal Election Commission report, and had $109,000 banked as of March 27.

Mejia was the surprise winner of a crowded Democratic primary that also included former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill. Malinowski, who represented the neighboring 7th District for two terms, was the top fundraiser in the primary, outraising Mejia $1.2 million to $420,000 through Jan. 16.

But Mejia was the unintended beneficiary of $2.3 million in spending against Malinowski by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee through its super PAC, the United Democracy Project. Malinowski, who drew the group’s ire for reportedly saying he was open to limits on funding for Israel, had been seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nod. But he later bemoaned the “massive flood of dark money that AIPAC spent on dishonest ads during the last three weeks.”

That spending seemingly helped to clear a path for Mejia, who has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

The initial margin between Mejia and Malinowski in the Feb. 5 primary was so close that The Associated Press didn’t call the race for a week. Malinowski conceded on Feb. 10, and Mejia was ultimately declared the winner by less than 2 points.

New Jersey’s 11th District has been a reliably Democratic seat in recent election cycles. Sherrill won her last House term in 2024 by 15 points, while Kamala Harris carried the district over Donald Trump by 9 points, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. Sherrill resigned from Congress in November after she was elected governor, triggering the special election.

The winner of Thursday’s election is expected to be quickly sworn in, coming on the heels of Georgia Rep. Clay Fuller’s addition to the House Republican Caucus. Fuller took the oath of office Tuesday after winning a special election last week to fill the vacancy left by the January departure of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.

There are currently three other vacant seats in the House, including two that opened Tuesday following the resignations of embattled Reps. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican. The California seat of the late GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa is also open. Special elections in the two California districts are set for this summer, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is yet to announce plans for the Texas vacancy.

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—Mary Ellen McIntire contributed to this report.

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