Special Election timeframes are set. 

Reminders to sign up for our 2 Candidate Meet and Greets! Space in both Essex and Morris are limited and filling fast, so sign up today!

Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill officially left her House seat at midnight last night, and Gov. Murphy has now set the date for when her successor will be elected. The primary election will be held on Thursday, February 5 and the general election will be held on Thursday, April 16. 

We are all still pretty emotional about all this. THANK YOU, Governor-Elect Sherrill, for your years of service to NJ 11. We're so proud of you, and excited to see you extend your remarkable skills and dedication to the whole of New Jersey.

And now, onwards! Could any of us standing in front of Rodney’s office in 2017 have imagined that a baker’s dozen of highly qualified candidates would be vying for the Democratic nomination to fill the NJ 11 Congressional seat? Or that, because of what we all have done and continue to do, one of them will almost definitely be our next representative?

POWER OF US

Let’s dive into the election timeline and details.

Filing Deadlines

The filing deadline for candidates seeking the Democratic or Republican nominations arrives on December 1, just ten days from now. Candidates running in either party’s primary must collect at least 500 signatures between now and then. 

For independent candidates, the filing deadline will be primary day, February 5, with 250 signatures needed to reach the general election ballot.

Signing Candidate Petitions:
Voters may sign only ONE candidate’s petition. You must either be registered for the party of the candidate (D for a D candidate, R for an R candidate), or if you are an unaffiliated voter, you must state that you will be voting for that candidate.

How To Vote:

Both the primary and general elections will be preceded by in-person early voting periods: a six-day period prior to the primary, January 29 through February 3, and a nine-day period prior to the general, April 6 through April 14. Voters will also, as always, have the option to cast their votes by mail. VBM primary ballots will start going out on Tuesday December 23rd. 

Who’s Running?

Once again, the eyes of the nation will likely be focused on New Jersey. Like many special House elections before it, the April 16 general election will be viewed as a bellwether for  the 2026 midterms.

Mikie won NJ 11 57%-42% this year. Yes, 15 points! Power of Us, we’ll just keep saying that.  Our current district is much bluer than the 2018 version of NJ11, so it’s extremely likely (if it’s up to us, and we know we are ready for that fight!) that the district’s next member of Congress will be decided in the Democratic primary. This makes February 5 all-important.

The Democratic field currently stands at 11 candidates, with several others expected to announce. 

On the Republican side there is one candidate: Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway. 

Announced Democratic candidates:

John Bartlett, Zach Beecher, Marc Chabaan, Cammie Croft, Dean Dafis, Brendan Gill, Jeff Grayzel, Tom Malinowski, Justin Strickland, Anna Lee Williams

Expected to announce:

Analilia Mejia, Kennedy Pivnick, Tahesha Way 

Sign up for one of our upcoming meet and greets to hear from them all!

EVENT INFO:
As you may have seen by now, we are planning two candidate meet and greet events for December. We launched our Essex event last week and the response has been, um, intense.  So intense we outgrew the venue. 

Don’t worry. We booked a bigger venue. 

If you have previously registered for the NJ 11th for Change Candidate Meet & Greet Essex County, you will receive an email from Mobilize with an updated venue. 

Also, we are pleased to announce NJ 11th for Change Candidate Meet & Greet Morris County on Saturday, December 13th at 10am. The format will be the same as our Essex event–we have invited all the candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to represent the 11th to join us to introduce themselves and their platform to the members of NJ 11th for Change. There will also be time to mingle and get to know the individual candidates. 

In order to make space for as many attendees as we can, we ask you to only attend ONE event. If you have registered and cannot attend, please cancel your registration as we expect these events will be filled to capacity. We will not be livestreaming these events, but we will record them and share. 

Timeline: 2026 NJ-11 Special Election

Filing Deadline For Primary Election (Democrats And Republicans):
Dec. 1 (Signatures needed: 500)

Filing Deadline For Primary Election (Independents):
Feb. 5 (Signatures needed: 250)

Primary Vote-By-Mail Ballots Mailed To Voters:
Dec. 23

In-Person Early Voting For Primary Election:
Jan. 29-Feb. 3

Primary Election Day:
Thursday, February 5

In-Person Early Voting For General Election:
April 6-April 14

General Election Day:
Thursday, April 16

Lastly, One important final message from our Congresswoman as she becomes our Governor-Elect. We will still be able to contact her offices for constituent services even after her resignation last evening. Contact info for her DC and Livingston offices here: 

Washington DC Office
1427 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-5034
Fax: (202) 225-3186

Livingston District Office
357 S. Livingston Avenue
Suite 201
Livingston, NJ 07039

Phone: (973) 526-5668