2 Montclair Congress Candidates Back Analilia Mejia After Primary Election Win

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair has had a major impact on one of the biggest elections of the year in New Jersey: the race to replace Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress.

The Feb. 5 special primary election to replace Sherrill – a Montclair resident – saw tens of thousands of votes throughout Essex, Morris and Passaic counties. The winners will match up against any independent or third-party candidates in a general election for all the marbles on April 16.

With 96 percent of votes counted, the Associated Press called the Democratic primary in New Jersey's 11th congressional district for Analilia Mejia on Thursday evening. The sole Republican candidate, Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, ran unopposed.

>> READ MORE: Mejia Wins In NJ-11: Progressive Politics Prove Popular In Primary

Mejia – a resident of nearby Glen Ridge – based her campaign office in Montclair. She held a press conference in the township on Tuesday to claim victory in the primary election.

“The lesson from this race is that people power can win,” Mejia told an enthusiastic crowd of supporters.

Watch video footage here, or view it below.

A huge field of candidates appeared on the Democratic ballot. In addition to Mejia, other candidates included two Montclair residents: Brendan Gill and Cammie Croft.

Each have endorsed Mejia for the general election in April.

Gill, an Essex County commissioner, has maintained that he will support the Democratic nominee who won the primary – a commitment that “mattered then and matters now.”

“I made this pledge because this election has never been about any one candidate—it is about honoring the will of the voters, building a stronger Democratic Party, defeating MAGA extremism, and defending our precious democracy,” said Gill, who will likely end up in fourth-place behind Tom Malinowski and Tahesha Way.

“For more than two decades, I have stood shoulder to shoulder with Democrats up and down the ballot, and I will continue to do so by proudly supporting Analilia Mejia,” Gill continued. “She is a principled, proven progressive who will carry our shared values into this campaign and fight for them every day in Washington D.C. And where we may disagree on policy, we will come together, listen and work collaboratively to move our district and our country forward.”

Croft, a former staffer in the presidential administration of Barack Obama, was one of the first candidates to throw their hat into the ring for Sherrill’s unexpired Congress seat.

Croft congratulated Mejia on her primary election win, saying that she ran a “passionate, hard-fought campaign” that energized voters and “focused attention on what’s most important in this moment: defeating MAGA extremism.”

“This is a moment for Democrats to unite,” Croft said. “No matter who you supported in the primary, we are aligned on what matters — stopping Trump’s abuse of power, taking back the House, and standing up for our democracy and working families.”

“I’m proud to stand with Analilia Mejia and make sure NJ-11 stays blue,” Croft added. “I’m ready to do my part to help Analilia and Democrats win in 2026, because unity is how we defeat extremism and move this country forward.”

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TOWN HALL ON ICE

Mejia spearheaded an “ICE Watch and Nonviolence Training Town Hall” in Montclair on Feb. 7, the sixth in a series that she has been holding across North Jersey.

“We have a responsibility to each other, I believe,” she said. “The way in which we do it — and again, this is the organizer in me — we have to educate, we have to agitate, and we have to mobilize. That’s the organizer’s mantra, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Gill and Croft – alongside several other Democratic leaders from New Jersey – lent their support.

“We need to show up, be in community and abolish ICE,” Croft urged. “We are in a five-alarm fire that not all of our Democratic leaders recognize, so kudos to everyone on this stage who recognizes that.”

“For me and my family, this isn’t theoretical or political—it’s deeply personal,” agreed Gill. “I refuse to sit quietly while our neighbors live in fear. This is not a moment for hesitation; it’s a moment for action.”

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