Analilia Mejia Defeats Joe Hathaway in New Jersey 11th District Special Election

Democrat Analilia Mejia won New Jersey’s special election for the U.S. House seat in the state’s 11th Congressional District, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway, in a result projected by NBC News and called by multiple outlets shortly after polls closed.

“Is there a special election in New Jersey today”

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NBC News said it projected Mejia’s win and described her as a “progressive activist” who will fill the seat “recently held by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill.”

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The Guardian reported that Mejia “won a New Jersey special election for the US House on Thursday, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway,” and said she will fill the seat previously held by Sherrill and “serve until January.”

Fox News similarly said the race was called “minutes after the polls closed at 8pm ET,” and described Mejia as “backed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

The Setonian, citing the Associated Press, said the AP called the race “around 8:30 p.m.” and reported that Mejia won by a “41-point margin,” with the AP calling it with “41% of the votes in.”

Gothamist reported that the Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed at “8 p.m. Thursday night,” and said Mejia was “garnering roughly 70% of counted ballots.”

Across the coverage, the seat is described as vacated by Mikie Sherrill after she won the governorship, and multiple outlets framed the contest as a test of Donald Trump’s leadership and a referendum on progressive policy priorities.

The special election followed Mikie Sherrill’s move from Congress to the New Jersey governorship, and the seat is repeatedly described as one that Mejia would fill for the remainder of Sherrill’s term.

The Guardian said Mejia “will fill the seat previously held by the Democratic governor Mikie Sherrill and serve until January,” while the Setonian specified that Mejia “will occupy the seat until Jan. 3, 2027.”

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New Jersey Monitor said Mejia would fill the seat “vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill after Sherrill won the governorship in November, until Jan. 3, 2027.”

WHYY reported that Mejia “will now serve out the remainder of the term, which ends in January,” and said she “must run again for the congressional seat in the November general election.”

The Setonian and MS NOW both described the election as the culmination of a Democratic primary process in February, with MS NOW saying “Party primaries were held in February” and that the Democratic primary drew “more than a dozen candidates.”

The Setonian added that the AP called the race around “8:30 p.m.” and described early polling showing Mejia leading by “a 17-point margin,” before she carried that success into election day.

The Setonian also tied the election to national control dynamics, saying Republicans hold a slim majority “218 Republicans to 213 Democrats with one Independent and four vacancies,” meaning “even a single seat could help determine control of the chamber.”

The 19th News framed the result as narrowing the GOP margin, saying “Democrats will have 214 representatives, while Republicans have 217,” and described the contest as adding “another progressive voice to the Democratic caucus.”

Mejia’s victory was accompanied by direct statements that outlets used to characterize the campaign’s central themes, including resistance to Donald Trump and a focus on affordability and working families.

“Voters in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district are heading to the polls today in a special election that could tighten the Republican House majority to its absolute limit, pitting progressive Democrat Analilia Mejia against Republican Joe Hathaway in a district that Democrats carried by 9 points in 2024”

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The Guardian quoted Mejia saying, “The people here are ready to do something about it,” and added, “We’re not here to write strongly worded letters. Congress has real power.”

In the same coverage, Mejia criticized Trump’s “pardons of people convicted of January 6-related crimes” and faulted him for “freezing funds authorized by Congress,” framing the race as a test of Trump’s leadership.

Fox News quoted the Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin congratulating Mejia, saying her “grassroots campaign spoke to hardworking New Jersey families. I know she'll fight to lower costs, protect health care, and tackle the affordability crisis head-on.”

MS NOW quoted Mejia in a statement saying, “We are fed up with the chaos coming out of Washington — from rising prices to attacks on our democracy,” and said, “This is our chance to reject MAGA extremism, fight for an economy that works for everyone, and elect someone who is truly unbought and unbossed.”

On the Republican side, Hathaway told Fox News Digital that the choice was “between a common sense, practical independent leader who's gotten things done at the local level in New Jersey and knows the issues, contrasted with someone who's running on pure ideology, far left-wing ideology.”

New Jersey Monitor quoted Hathaway’s statement after the win, saying he still believed “the broader electorate in NJ-11 is looking for balanced, pragmatic leadership, not the kind of far-left policies embraced by Ms. Mejia.”

Gothamist included Hathaway’s spokesperson Kean Maclelland saying Hathaway “called the Republican nominee called Mejia to concede and left a voicemail when she did not answer,” and also included Hathaway’s written criticism that the election was “a unique and, frankly, unusual election.”

Coverage of the election emphasized different angles, from progressive momentum and national implications to internal Democratic divisions and the role of outside groups.

Devdiscourse described Mejia’s win as “a significant victory in New Jersey's special election for the US House,” saying she defeated “Republican Joe Hathaway,” and framed her as focusing on “resisting Trump's influence,” including criticizing Trump for “pardoning individuals involved in January 6-related offenses and freezing congressionally-approved funds.”

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The Guardian framed the race as “a message of standing up to Donald Trump” and said Mejia “cast the race as a test of Trump’s leadership,” while also describing her as campaigning to “pushing to abolish US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”

Haaretz, in a different framing, said the result was “In blow to AIPAC” and described Mejia as a Democrat who “accused Israel of genocide,” while also saying AIPAC “spent against her and her primary opponent.”

MS NOW emphasized ideological divisions within the Democratic Party, saying the race “exposed ideological divisions within the party” and describing it as “a test for Republican efforts to compete in a district that has trended blue in recent years.”

The 19th News focused on House control arithmetic and described the win as “further narrowing Republicans’ already razor-thin edge in the chamber,” while also noting that Mejia emerged from “a crowded field of nearly a dozen candidates.”

Gothamist highlighted turnout and vote-by-mail dynamics, reporting that “The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Thursday night” and that “According to the New Jersey Division of Elections, 21,000 more Democrats cast early ballots by mail or in-person than Republicans.”

WHYY framed the election as a bellwether and described the district’s registration totals, saying “There are more than 600,000 registered voters in 11th Congressional District” and giving “Approximately 225,000” Democrats, “164,000” Republicans, and “205,000” unaffiliated.

Fox News centered the race on GOP attempts to expand a “fragile majority,” and described the contest as a bid to “flip a vacant U.S. House seat in a blue-leaning district in northern New Jersey.”

After the special election, multiple outlets described an immediate next phase: a November rematch between Mejia and Hathaway and a June primary for Democrats.

“Republicans fell far short in their bid to flip a vacant U”

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The Guardian said “They could go head to head again in November’s election for a full two-year term,” and the Setonian said “Mejia’s next challenge is the June 2 primary,” where she would compete for a two-year term beginning “Jan. 3, 2027.”

Gothamist

New Jersey Monitor said both Mejia and Hathaway would be “vying again to win election to the 11th District in November, for the two-year term that begins in January,” and quoted Mejia telling supporters, “Don’t forget, in eight weeks we got to do it again.”

Gothamist similarly said her break from the campaign trail could be short lived and that she’s likely to face a primary challenge in June from “two Democrats already registered to run against her.”

The 19th News said “Both Mejia and Hathaway will be back on the ballot in June, running in their party primaries for next cycle’s two-year term,” and described the broader consequence as Democrats narrowing the GOP margin in the House.

The Setonian also described the June Democratic primary field, naming “Donald Cresitello of Morristown, Joseph Lewis II of Montville and Justin Strickland of Chatham,” and said Mejia would be challenged by three Democrats in June’s regular primary.

Fox News described the House context, saying Republicans “clings to a fragile House majority,” and said Mejia’s win came as “GOP fails to expand fragile majority.”

In addition to electoral next steps, several outlets tied the election to policy fights that Mejia promised to pursue, including abolishing ICE and pushing affordability measures, with the Guardian saying she campaigned on “populist economic policies” and “pushing to abolish US Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” and MS NOW quoting her statement that she would reject “MAGA extremism” and fight for “an economy that works for everyone.”