New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s victory in the governor’s election this month left behind a now-vacant congressional district — and at least 11 Democrats have lined up for the chance to fill it.
Among them are a former congressman running to represent a different district from the one he once represented, a county commissioner endorsed by the sitting governor, a young progressive activist, a lieutenant governor and handful of local leaders hoping to jump into the national political scene.
The crowded primary is another microlevel battle in the national debate over the future of the Democratic Party — from who its leaders are to what policies it puts at the forefront to what divides its primaries.
On Friday, Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., set an official date for the special election of April 16. The primary will be Feb. 5.
Murphy, who has endorsed Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, told NBC News on Friday that the candidates represent “a field with a lot of talent, a lot of folks we know and admire, but Brendan stands out to me."
Most of the candidates welcome the large primary in the 11th District, despite the short runway.
“I’m excited to see the widening field. You know, I think that’s evidence that our democracy is working,” Gill told NBC News on Friday.
Zach Beecher, a veteran Army paratrooper who is also running in the district’s Democratic primary, told NBC News: “I think voters deserve a choice. I think the Democratic Party, I think this country broadly, does better when there’s more choice in the candidates that they have.”
Beecher, like several other Democratic candidates NBC News spoke to in the district, hopes to position himself as a “political outsider.”
“It’d be really hard to find any voter that would tell you that 2026 is going to likely be the year of the insider, right? I think the outsider has had a mandate in a way that’s unique,” Beecher said. “Voters want change. Voters are sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Morris Township Deputy Mayor Jeff Grayzel similarly painted himself as an outsider who can fight back against a GOP agenda, saying that's a requirement for everyone running in the primary.
“I think the entry into this race, obviously, is fighting for Democrats and fighting back against Republicans and saving our democracy. I think that’s an entry point for every one of us,” Grayzel said.
“What differentiates me from everybody else is I’ve actually done it,” he added, citing the fact that he been mayor and deputy mayor in the most Republican-leaning county in the district.
In the recent governor’s election, Sherrill carried all three counties — Essex, Morris and Passaic — that have portions in the 11th District, but she won Morris County by the smallest margin.
Anna Lee Williams, 27, a community organizer, also framed herself as an outsider.
“I decided to run for office as a normal person who’s really frustrated with where our country is and where it’s been for the past 10 years,” she said. “I don’t see a consensus in Washington where I think that our representatives are working towards a future that is exciting and progressive and positive. And that led me to deciding to run for Congress.”
Beecher also cited Sherrill’s success in running as a political outsider when she first won the seat in 2018.
Sherrill flipped a Republican seat in favor of Democrats in what was at the time a competitive district. Since the state redrew congressional lines after the 2020 census, the district has become more favorable for Democrats. It is now rated “Solid Democrat” by the non-partisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.
While a majority of candidates are taking the outsider lane in this primary, there are two decidedly insider candidates — Gill and former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who served the nearby 7th District from 2019 to 2023, leaving Congress after a narrow loss in 2022 to GOP now-Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
Gill has touted his past work for a string of Democratic leaders in New Jersey — the late Rep. Bill Pascrell, former Rep. Steve Rothman, the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Sen. Cory Booker and Murphy — in an interview.
“I’ve been blessed ... to have various roles, helping, working for Democrats up and down the ticket in this area. I’ve worked extensively in all three counties that this district makes up,” Gill said, adding that he was born and raised in the district and lives in it now.
He also pointed to his endorsement from over 70 local leaders, including mayors throughout the district and all four Democratic state senators who serve the district.
Malinowski, meanwhile, who has the endorsement of Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told NBC News, “I’m the only Democrat running in the primary who has represented any part of this district and who has the experience to be effective.”
He has faced criticism for the fact that he doesn’t live in the 11th District, though he has promised to move there if he wins the primary. After the post-2020 redistricting process, parts of Malinowski’s former 7th District were folded into the 11th District.
“I work in the district. I teach at Seton Hall University, and I am motivated by a desire to get back into the fight as quickly as possible, to resume my seniority in the House as quickly as possible, so that I can be effective at a moment of great urgency,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way said she is seriously considering running in the special election and has discussed her potential candidacy with Murphy, who she said has been encouraging. Way is also New Jersey's secretary of state, and she said her experience is what would make her the best person for the job were she to run.
“I’m confident that I would be the best person for the job because no other candidate has worked as an educator, served in local government, has been a state judge and has the statewide experience of serving the great people of New Jersey,” she said.
Way said her top priorities in Congress would be to address affordability and to expand access to the ballot box. She said any announcement she plans to make about her candidacy will be made soon.
Insider or outsider, nearly all the candidates NBC News spoke to in the Democratic field agreed that the district needs someone who vows to lower costs and stand up to President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“I would want to be focusing — laser-focused on how we’re going to help get costs under control,” Gills said, adding, “And at the same time, like, we’ve got to stand up to Trump, period.”
Malinowski promising to do so if elected, saying, “I think there is, even under these circumstances, more a House can do to conduct oversight of Trump’s tariff policy.”
Cammie Croft, a former Obama White House staffer who touted her contribution to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, said her goals in Congress would be to lower costs for families and end corruption in Washington, which she said is contributing to poor affordability.
“This administration is the most corrupt in modern history. They are getting wealthy at our expense, and that is increasing costs for us and working families,” Croft said, adding that she would move to end stock trading in Congress and the White House if she were elected.
Beecher pointed to threats Trump made Thursday against Democratic lawmakers who are veterans and former intelligence officers after they posted a video calling on military and intelligence officers to disobey illegal orders.
“That is not healthy in democracy, and Trump needs to be challenged,” he said.
Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett said: “Donald Trump is all about self-service, enriching himself and his cronies, while the rest of us struggle to get by. I’m about public service, and importantly, I’m ready for the fight ahead.”
He added later in an interview, “The Trump administration’s policies have had a massive impact on families’ ability to get by at all economic levels in this district.”
Murphy pointed to Sherrill’s recent success as a prime example of the right campaign for New Jersey, saying that “universal in any races in the near term” candidates should focus on “affordability, infrastructure, getting a Gateway project, fighting in Washington and not rolling over.”
