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,........

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