A Jersey brawl: Meet the candidates running to replace Mikie Sherrill

Feb. 4, 2026, 3:22 p.m. ET WOODLAND PARK, New Jersey - A pivotal Congressional midterm election season is about to go full-throttle in northern New Jersey. Early voting runs through Feb. 3, followed by the in-person primary on Thursday, Feb. 5, for the special primaries to fill the 11th Congressional District seat that opened when Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill resigned to become New Jersey's governor. The GOP and Democratic winners will then face off in a special election on Thursday, April 16. The victor will represent the district but must then run again in the regular midterm election on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The 11th stretches across dozens of towns in suburban Morris, Passaic and Essex counties. And whether it's the lure of a rare open House seat or Democratic intensity whipped up in opposition to President Donald Trump, the race has drawn a crowd: 11 Democrats and one Republican vying for their party nominations. Here's a brief introduction to each of the candidates. Two Democrats, Marc Chaaban and Dean Dafis, have dropped out of the race, though their names will still be on the ballot. Democrats John Bartlett Passaic County commissioner. Bartlett is banking on the idea that voters in the 11th District value experience and expertise. The Harvard-educated lawyer has launched his congressional bid with a specific focus on "the last mile" of government. After 12 years on the county board, the Wayne resident is pitching himself as the candidate best equipped to translate federal policy into local relief. He frequently cites his record of lowering county property tax rates for nine consecutive years while managing nearly $1 billion in federal infrastructure investments for North Jersey transit and road projects. "Effectiveness is measured in results, not rhetoric," Bartlett said. A partner at Murphy Orlando LLC, Bartlett, 53, has also spent decades as a voting-rights litigator. He joined the legal fight against the Trump administration in the U.S. Supreme Court to stop what he called the weaponization of the U.S. census and has taken on cases against the Republican National Committee to protect ballot access. He says a coordinated effort to undermine election integrity is the nation’s greatest threat and wants a new Voting Rights Act to end the era of so-called "dark money" — large campaign spending where donors' identities are hidden. Zach Beecher Venture capitalist; former Army paratrooper. Beecher says he's on a mission to bring military-style urgency to a government he says is failing North Jersey families. A Morristown resident who served in the 82nd Airborne Division, the 35-year-old is pitching himself as a problem solver capable of innovating "at the speed of battle." The North Jersey native and Bronze Star recipient credits his parents — his mother was a social worker and his father a police officer — with instilling a belief in serving the greater good. "Before I was a paratrooper, I was a kid from New Jersey raised to believe service comes first," Beecher said. "My mission in Congress will be the same as it has always been: serve my community and solve big problems." Beecher frequently recounts watching Trump's 2017 inauguration while deployed in Mosul, Iraq, an experience that he said solidified his commitment to service at home. Since transitioning from active duty, he has worked in the private sector to develop technology for fighting human trafficking and collaborated with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to bring jobs to the state, he said. Cammie Croft Former Obama administration staffer; clean-energy nonprofit leader. Croft is running, she said, because the American Dream has become an issue of "stability" rather than wealth. A Montclair resident and former Obama White House staffer, Croft has centered her campaign on a promise to lower utility bills and her ability to navigate a divided Congress. Having helped pass the Affordable Care Act as part of Obama's team, and as former leader of a national clean-energy-focused nonprofit, she said her 25 years of experience inside federal systems prepared her to deliver results for working families. "Everything is getting harder, faster," Croft said. "When utility bills spike, families have fewer choices and less breathing room." Croft identifies electricity as a core cost-of-living issue. Her platform includes making data centers pay their "fair share" and holding utility executives accountable for rate hikes. She said her background has taught her how to move ideas from theory to execution, even in partisan environments. J-L Cauvin Bloomfield attorney and satirist. For a decade, J-L Cauvin’s voice was best known for his viral impersonations of President Donald Trump. Now, the Bloomfield attorney and comedian is seeking a seat in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District. Cauvin launched his Democratic primary campaign after the 2024 election. He said the decision was sparked by a belief that the party needs "different types of communicators" to reach voters who feel shut out of power. As the second Trump administration began, Cauvin said, he decided to move from satirizing the political landscape to reforming it. "Instead of making people laugh after another day of Trump insanity and cruelty, I decided I had to use my skills to try and stop the pain before it happens," Cauvin said. A 2004 Georgetown Law graduate and former assistant district attorney in the Bronx, Cauvin currently specializes in eviction prevention. He said the work informs his focus on affordability. As a local renter, Cauvin said that 12 of the 16 neighbors on his floor moved out last year due to steep rent increases. He sees housing as the district’s most urgent issue. "There is no bigger kitchen-table issue than no longer being able to afford your kitchen," Cauvin said. Brendan Gill Essex County commissioner. A lifelong Montclair resident, Gill was first elected as a county commissioner in 2011. But his political résumé also includes work as a senior adviser to top Democrats including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, former Sen. Frank Lautenberg and former Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr. and Steve Rothman. His role managing Phil Murphy's first campaign in 2017 earned him an endorsement in the 11th District race from the former governor. "I was honored to be a part of their campaigns and stand alongside them as we fought for progressive values and results," Gill, 51, said at a candidates forum at Caldwell University. His wife, Alixon Collazos-Gill, a Colombian immigrant, was elected to the state Assembly in 2023, representing the 27th District. They are raising two children. "As the father of Latino children, this fight is personal," he said. "I see the things that I had and the privilege I had growing up with, and I see it slipping away." As a commissioner, Gill said, he has "delivered results." Jeff Grayzel Industrial engineer; former mayor and current deputy mayor of Morris Township. Grayzel, 63, first gained prominence in town leading a grassroots campaign to limit residential redevelopment on the 147-acre former Honeywell Corp. campus. He ran five times in Morris Township, then a deep-red community, before finally winning a seat on the Township Committee in 2007. He later became mayor twice as the entire committee flipped from red to blue. Grayzel touts his experience as the only engineer and mayor in the deep Democratic primary, and as a leader who has overcome long odds to get things done. "I'll bring that problem-solving approach to Congress," he said. Though he enjoys a high profile in Morris County as an elected official and former candidate for state Senate, Grayzel may not be a known commodity in the Passaic and Essex county portions of the district. He is, he points out, "the only Jewish candidate, and there's a very large Jewish constituency in this race." The president of G3 Medical Development, he also holds several patents for cardiac devices, "so I have a lot of things going for me that I think are interesting to voters." Tom Malinowski Former 7th District congressman and assistant U.S. secretary of state. Malinowski is framing his wish to return to Congress as an urgent effort to restore democratic guardrails and lower costs for North Jersey families. A former diplomat and two-term congressman, Malinowski recently moved to South Orange, having sold his home in Hunterdon County, to seek the 11th District seat. He said his seniority and previous experience make him a battle-tested leader ready to challenge the Trump administration from day one. "Lowering the high cost of living — from health care to housing to food to energy — is where Donald Trump has failed and we must succeed," he said. During his tenure in Congress, from 2019 to 2023, Malinowski won funding for the Gateway Tunnel and Portal Bridge while directing pandemic aid to local governments to prevent property tax hikes, he said. A former assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights under President Barack Obama, he also led efforts to authorize the seizure of Russian assets and protect against foreign corruption, his campaign website says. "Congress can and must revoke the 'emergency' authority Trump has used to impose a massive tariff tax on American consumers and companies," Malinowski said. Malinowski, 60, lost his 7th District seat to current Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in 2022, after the district was redrawn to include more Republican voters. In the current campaign, he has won the endorsement of the Morris County Democratic Committee and the backing of U.S. Sen. Andy Kim. Analilia Mejia Labor and political organizer; national political director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. The Glen Ridge resident is well-known among New Jersey progressives, and a recent campaign appearance by Sanders raised her profile with the public. So did an endorsement from another champion of the left, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Mejia, 47, has centered her campaign on affordability for the working class — she has proposed a hike in the federal minimum wage to nearly $25 an hour from the current $7.25, as well as guaranteed paid sick days and more funding for childcare. That would be paid, in part, by an effort to "fairly tax billionaires and corporations," her website says. In campaign appearances, Mejia has warned against sending "weak sauce" back to Congress, clearly aiming at front-runners Malinowski and Gill, to paint them as establishment candidates who have failed the working class. "The biggest problem we have is the outsized power of money in our democracy," she told the large audience at the Sanders rally, held at William Paterson University. "Those with money cheat so that they pay less, and we end up with less. Those who have access end up flooding our electoral system and drowning us out. I am an advocate of policies that help right that, correct that." Justin Strickland Chatham Borough councilman, Army veteran. Strickland has elevated his dark-horse status in a crowded race with a team of more than 40 volunteers, electronic billboards, mailers and a social media presence positioning him as a progressive "change agent" with a platform heavy on affordability issues. He also has taken his message to many activist protests and events criticizing the Trump administration, including the Visibility Brigade and No Kings rallies. "'Grassroots' can be a trendy word, but we are a real grassroots team," said Strickland, who will be 45 on primary day. "We do it because we believe in an idea of actually taking action in this moment. We believe that the Democratic Party needs to change." To that end, he's focusing on policy rather than running in protest of Donald Trump, although Trump's second election was his motivating factor to enter the race. "We're the only campaign that launched with specific policy from day one," he said. "It's all centered on affordability, and when you look at it, it starts when you are young, all the way into your senior years. There's an affordability policy for everyone in there." Tahesha Way Former New Jersey lieutenant governor and Passaic County commissioner. Way, who was Phil Murphy's lieutenant governor until Jan. 20, says the 11th District doesn't need a representative who is "learning on the job." The Wayne resident and former administrative law judge has entered the primary with a focus on protecting voting rights and health care. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, she previously served as a Passaic County commissioner and New Jersey’s secretary of state. She argues that her statewide experience included managing elections and addressing affordability, distinguishing her in the Democratic field. "What sets me apart is that I’ve already done the work and delivered results for New Jersey families," Way said. The 56-year-old's focus on health care is rooted in a personal crisis: At 19, she survived a life-threatening brain hemorrhage and had to teach herself how to read again after an insurer denied coverage for therapy. If she is elected, a comprehensive cost-of-living and health care affordability bill would be her top legislative priority. Her platform includes capping out-of-pocket medical costs and lowering prescription drug prices to ensure residents are not forced to choose between groceries and health care. As New Jersey's former secretary of state, Way said, she was personally sued by the Trump administration for opposing the president's demands on voter data and ballot access. Anna Lee Williams Activist and community advocate. Anna Lee Williams is framing her campaign for the 11th District as a grassroots effort to challenge a Congress she describes as self-enriching and beholden to ultra-wealthy donors. A community advocate and West Orange resident, the 27-year-old has centered her platform on "The Fair Deal," a series of policy proposals aimed at restoring the quality of life for "normal people." She argues that while residents show up for their families and pay their taxes, their representatives have prioritized party posturing over solving local issues. "In a world that feels increasingly unstable, we need normal people to run for office and to make decisions that better represent all of us," Williams said. "I'm running for Congress because you deserve to be heard." Republican Joe Hathaway Randolph councilman and former mayor; former advance aide for Gov. Chris Christie. The only Republican and one of the youngest candidates in the race, Hathaway, 39, has ties to both the Morris and Essex sides of District 11. Born and raised in Clifton, Hathaway was an all-Ivy League football star at Yale University, from which he graduated in 2009 with a degree in political science. He also lived in two 11th District towns in Essex County, Bloomfield and Nutley, before settling in Randolph. "I have lived in CD-11 for 20 years," he said. "My dad was a small-business owner in Bloomfield for 40 years, so this is home to me. I know this community." Professionally, he has managed executive communications and operations in health care and financial services. Politically, he's unopposed in the GOP primary, giving him a head start toward the special general election on April 16. Instead of campaigning for the Feb. 5 primary, he has been focused on organizing and fundraising as the de facto Republican candidate. On the Democratic side, as Hathaway sees it, "it's a 'who hates Donald Trump the most' contest and, you know, no real tangible ideas that actually make life more affordable or fix any of the problems we have."