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By Mandy Taheri
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Voters in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District on Thursday elected Democrat Analilia Mejia in a special election to fill the seat that opened when Democrat Mikie Sherrill became governor.
Mejia’s victory narrows Republicans’ House majority and gives Democrats a boost ahead of the midterm elections. The result comes weeks after Democrats secured victories in two special elections in Florida and adds to a series of other recent wins.
What To Know
Polls closed at 8 p.m., with results reported by 8:07 p.m.
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Mejia was favored to win the seat against Republican Joe Hathaway and independent Alan Bond. She won 68.1 percent of the vote, with Hathaway garnering 31.5 percent and Bond taking 0.5 percent, according to the Associated Press at 9:25 p.m. ET.
Ahead of polls opening at 6 a.m., official data on the race was sparse, but polling sponsored by Mejia had her up 17 percentage points over Hathaway.
Mejia previously served as a state director of the Working Families Party in New Jersey, as a national political director of independent progressive Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and later worked in the Biden administration’s as the Deputy Director of the Women's Bureau at the U.S Labor Department. She received endorsements from Sanders as well as Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
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Ahead of this election, Republicans held the majority in the House with 218 seats to the Democrats' 213. Four seats were vacant—two most recently held by Republicans and two most recently held by Democrats, including Sherrill's seat. In addition to the recent special elections, seat changes have shifted over sexual misconduct allegations, with Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, and Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, having announced their resignations from Congress this week.
Other special elections ahead of the midterms that could shape the House include an August race to replace Swalwell in California, along with a separate contest in Northern California following the death of Representative Doug LaMalfa. Gonzales’ vacancy could also trigger a special election, though a date has not been set.
The party in the White House historically loses seats in the midterms, and Democrats have overperformed in special and state elections the past year, helping fuel optimism among some in the party for the November elections.
What Happens Next
Mejia is expected to be sworn in soon and will replace Governor Mikie Sherrill, serving the remainder of Sherill's term until the end of 2026.
Mejia will likely return for the midterm elections where she will look to secure a full two-year term for the seat starting in early 2027.
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