Democrat Analilia Mejia projected to win New Jersey House seat

Local News Democrat Analilia Mejia projected to win special election for New Jersey House seat vacated by Gov. Mikie Sherrill By Jeff Capellini, Jeff Capellini Digital Producer, CBS New York Jeff Capellini has been digital producer at CBS New York for 20 years. He previously worked for The Associated Press and several newspapers. Read Full Bio Jeff Capellini, Christine Sloan Christine Sloan Christine Sloan Christine Sloan is an Emmy Award-winning reporter, who covers New Jersey for CBS News New York. Sloan re-joined the station in January 2023. She also worked at CBS News New York from 2004 to 2016. Read Full Bio Christine Sloan Updated on: April 16, 2026 / 8:47 PM EDT / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google The Associated Press has projected Democrat Analilia Mejia as the winner of the special election in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District, a seat formerly held by Gov. Mikie Sherrill.Mejia cruised to victory Thursday over Republican Joe Hathaway and independent Alan Bond.She will serve out the remainder of Sherrill's term, which ends in January. The district encompasses parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.  The seat was a longtime Republican stronghold, but has become increasingly Democratic since President Donald Trump's first term. Voter registration records show Democrats outnumber Republicans in the district by more than 60,000 voters.Democrat Analilia Mejia's platform  Mejia is a progressive who is the former head of the Working Families Alliance. She emerged from a crowded Democratic field in February, when she held a very slim lead. Mejia also worked for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders as his political director during his 2020 presidential bid. She is endorsed by him, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.  She campaigned on populist economic policies and pushed to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some of Mejia's priorities include taxing billionaires, raising wages and uni...