13 Democrats compete for party nomination for New Jersey 11th House District

Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill’s victory within the New Jersey gubernatorial race has arrange a crowded particular election to fill her seat within the U.S. Home of Representatives, with 13 Democrats vying for the nomination to face the lone Republican candidate within the race.

The staggering Democratic discipline of 13 candidates in New Jersey’s Eleventh Congressional District may set the tone for Democrats’ messaging priorities because the nation heads right into a midterm election 12 months that would decide whether or not Republicans retain management of the Home and Senate in 2026 amid President Donald Trump’s second time period.

Monday was the submitting deadline for candidates vying to switch Sherrill, with candidates required to gather a minimal of 500 signatures to get on the poll within the particular election.

Outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., issued the election order on Friday, Nov. 21, after Sherrill formally resigned on Thursday, Nov. 20. The particular main election is scheduled for February 5, 2026, and the particular normal election will likely be held on April 16, 2026.

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Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill delivers remarks throughout her election night time watch occasion on November 4, 2025 in East Brunswick, New Jersey. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Photographs)

The election comes as Democrats scored gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia and this 12 months handed Proposition 50 in California, permitting the state to maneuver ahead with a brand new congressional map anticipated to supply 5 Democratic-leaning districts.

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Murphy has already endorsed it Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill touted his dedication to affordability and defending “freedoms” within the battle towards Trump. As Essex County Commissioner-at-Massive, Gill represents 22 cities in Essex County, and in line with his marketing campaign web site, he’s dedicated to “combating robust fights and delivering outcomes that make our communities stronger, safer and fairer.”

Whereas Gill has obtained the outgoing governor’s coveted endorsement, Democratic voters in Eleventh-ranked New Jersey could have 12 candidates to select from in February.

Progressive star Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has additionally thrown his hat within the ring to endorse the nationwide political director of his 2020 presidential marketing campaign, Analilia Mejia.

Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Heart for Fashionable Democracy, speaks throughout a press convention exterior the U.S. Capitol on April 19, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Photographs)

“As oligarchs and company pursuits proceed to seize our authorities, we’d like true progressives to reclaim our nation for working individuals. Analilia’s expertise and deep dedication to working households make her your best option for this seat. I’m proud to help her,” mentioned Sanders. said last month.

Mejia served on the Division of Labor underneath President Joe Biden and is presently co-executive director of Fashionable Democracy, a progressive advocacy group that “calls for transformational change for Black, brown, and low-income communities.”

One other high-profile candidate along with his personal high-profile help, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, is keen to return to Congress after shedding his re-election bid for New Jersey’s seventh District in 2022.

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., has endorsed Malinowski and touted his expertise combating the Trump administration. Malinowski served, amongst different positions, as President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights and as senior director of President Invoice Clinton’s Nationwide Safety Council.

Consultant Tom Malinowski participated in a rally on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Might 13, 2022. (Invoice Clark/CQ-Roll Name, Inc by way of Getty Photographs)

Outgoing Lt. Governor Tahesha Means can also be within the working for Eleventh place in New Jersey. The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Affiliation has endorsed Means and highlighted her dedication to “increasing alternative and delivering outcomes.”

Means additionally served as New Jersey Secretary of State and was the primary Black individual and New Jersey’s first secretary to guide the Nationwide Affiliation of State Secretaries of State as president.

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In the meantime, Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland, a U.S. Military veteran, Bronze Star recipient and former Pentagon official, can also be vying for the Democratic nomination.

Strickland has targeted his marketing campaign on affordability — the successful theme previously two election cycles.

“Our marketing campaign is about one easy precept: guaranteeing everybody has the financial freedom to realize the American Dream,” Strickland mentioned on his marketing campaign web site.

One other Democratic candidate, Anna Lee Williams, is an activist who, in line with her marketing campaign web site, has spent the previous decade within the “nonprofit and personal sectors, bringing individuals collectively round points that matter to them.”

Governor Phil Murphy delivers a speech on the Hudson River Tunnel Challenge on the West Aspect Yard in New York Metropolis on January 31, 2023. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photographs)

Democratic candidate Jeff Grayzel is a neighborhood chief who presently serves as a board member for Morris Township, as chairman of the Police Fee and as a member of the Board of Well being.

He’s the previous mayor of Morris Township who’s “devoted to fixing on a regular basis issues residents face, reminiscent of conserving taxes steady, controlling overdevelopment, bettering our infrastructure and addressing our deteriorating atmosphere,” in line with his marketing campaign web site.

U.S. veteran and former Military paratrooper Zach Beecher mentioned he’s “working for Congress as a result of Donald Trump and a failed Congress are endangering our individuals and our nation,” citing rising prices, well being care and management on the world stage.

In response to his marketing campaign web site, Beecher is presently a serious within the U.S. Military Reserves, and his run for Congress marks his political debut.

Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, who can also be vying for the Democratic nomination, mentioned he’s working as a result of New Jersey deserves it “one other warrior prepared on day one, with a document of outcomes and a give attention to what actually issues to us right here” and “as a result of it’s clear that Washington wants leaders who consider within the concept of ​​public service and are prepared to place nation earlier than occasion.”

One other Democratic candidate, Cammie Croft, helped the Obama administration move the Inexpensive Care Act, touting its dedication to “advancing humane, bipartisan immigration reform, to constructing a clear vitality nonprofit that helps households decrease their vitality payments.”

Democratic Consultant Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey votes on Election Day in Montclair, New Jersey, on November 4, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox Information)

Her priorities in Congress are “decreasing prices for households, ending corruption and constructing a stronger, fairer economic system that works for everybody,” in line with Croft’s marketing campaign web site.

Marc Chaaban, a former congressional staffer at Sherrill, is making an attempt to switch his former boss on the workplace the place he as soon as labored.

Echoing the sentiment of his fellow activists and politicians from Technology Z, the 25-year-old mentioned that “too many Democrats in Washington are asleep on the wheel” and that this second “requires a special type of politics.”

His duties embody rejecting Trump’s agenda, banning members of Congress from inventory buying and selling, banning company PAC cash in elections and investigating the “Trump-Epstein cover-up.”

Dean Dafis, a Maplewood Metropolis Council member and former mayor of Maplewood, mentioned he’s dedicated to creating New Jersey’s Eleventh a extra reasonably priced place to reside for working households. He’s a civil rights advocate and the primary brazenly LGBTQ consultant on the Maplewood Township Committee, in line with his marketing campaign web site.

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Lastly, JL Cauvin is a neighborhood advocate, lawyer and comic vying for the Democratic nomination. He’s dedicated to defending seniors, making housing extra reasonably priced, main the way in which in synthetic intelligence, defending democracy, banning inventory buying and selling and implementing time period limits in Congress.

The one Republican candidate is Joe Hathaway, who’s presently mayor of Randolph Township and started his political profession as an aide to Gov. Chris Christie, RN.J.