New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has announced that a special election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat left by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill will take place on April 16.
The election comes after Sherrill's resignation from Congress went into effect, and Murphy has directed that a special primary election be held on February 5. The deadline for primary candidates to file nominating petitions is December 1 at 4 pm.
A crowded field of candidates is already vying for the seat, including at least 10 Democrats and one Republican. The race includes Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, among others.
The winner of the special election will fill out the remainder of Sherrill's current term, which ends January 3, 2027. The 11th Congressional District includes parts of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.
Early voting for both the primary and general elections is set to begin on January 29 through February 3 for the primary, and April 6 through April 14 for the general election.
Murphy's special election timeline has been criticized by Republicans, with National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole accusing him of trying to "protect Democratic insiders" and "silence voters." The deadline set by Murphy, which falls after the Thanksgiving holiday, is seen as a challenge to access for potential candidates outside of the political machine.
Sherrill, who won her gubernatorial campaign earlier this month with a 14-point margin over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, will become New Jersey's 57th governor on January 20.
The election comes after Sherrill's resignation from Congress went into effect, and Murphy has directed that a special primary election be held on February 5. The deadline for primary candidates to file nominating petitions is December 1 at 4 pm.
A crowded field of candidates is already vying for the seat, including at least 10 Democrats and one Republican. The race includes Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, among others.
The winner of the special election will fill out the remainder of Sherrill's current term, which ends January 3, 2027. The 11th Congressional District includes parts of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.
Early voting for both the primary and general elections is set to begin on January 29 through February 3 for the primary, and April 6 through April 14 for the general election.
Murphy's special election timeline has been criticized by Republicans, with National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole accusing him of trying to "protect Democratic insiders" and "silence voters." The deadline set by Murphy, which falls after the Thanksgiving holiday, is seen as a challenge to access for potential candidates outside of the political machine.
Sherrill, who won her gubernatorial campaign earlier this month with a 14-point margin over Republican Jack Ciattarelli, will become New Jersey's 57th governor on January 20.
. The fact that a special election is being held for a vacant seat raises questions about the nature of representation and how it's supposed to work. Is it fair to say that the system is so broken that we need emergency measures to fill in the gaps? 
On one hand, having more people involved in the process might be a good thing - but on the other hand, you've got to wonder if these candidates are really representing the interests of the constituents they're supposed to serve. And what about access? The deadline set by Murphy does seem like a challenge for outsiders trying to get into the game... it's almost as if the system is designed to favor those who already know how to play 
But at the same time, holding off a special election till April feels kinda like putting on the brakes. Maybe it's a good opportunity for people who wanna get involved in politics to step up and give it a shot? 
It's not about protecting insiders or silencing voters... it's about giving everyone a fair chance to make their voice heard! 
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. And on the other hand, early voting can be super helpful for people who have busy schedules or live far from the polling stations. Can't we just find a happy medium here? Maybe Feb 5 is a bit too soon, but April 16 might be too late... what's a reasonable date in between? 
. And what about all these candidates showing up out of nowhere? It's almost like they're getting some kind of backing from the governor himself 
. And don't even get me started on the early voting dates - it's like he's trying to limit who can actually cast their ballot in this thing 
. I'm not saying there's anything wrong, but something doesn't add up...
and what's with this weird timeline? jan 29 thru feb 3 for primary voting? isn't it supposed to be jan 1-6 or smthn? 
. And, of course, there are already 10+ Democrats vying for the seat... I mean, who wouldn't want to run for Congress when you can spend your time making laws instead of, say, paying off student loans? 
. I get that Democrats want to move forward with their plans, but shouldn't we have more time to figure out who's actually good for the job? And what's up with Republicans not liking the timeline? It just seems like a typical power play 
. Anyways, early voting is coming soon so fingers crossed people can make their voices heard! 
April 16 for the special election? that's like, super close to the general election dates they should give ppl more notice about this... also i'm kinda surprised there are already 10 dems running but where's the rest of the country's representation? why is it all dems only? 
and now i'm thinking about how cats are basically the original couch surfers - they just show up, demand food and snuggles, and suddenly they're experts on everything 
and yeah, can't even get worked up over a Congressional election when there's cat video gold to watch 
and it's gonna be crazy to see her in office. early votin starts soon so we'll see who's gettin' the job done