11th District Candidates To Speak At Forum Thursday

WAYNE, NJ — Republican Jay Webber and Democrat Mikie Sherrill will discuss the issues important to 11th District voters at a candidates forum Thursday in town.

Webber is a Republican who serves in the New Jersey State Assembly. Sherrill is a Democrat, Navy veteran, and former federal prosecutor.

The forum will begin at 8:15 p.m. in the Wayne Municipal Complex, 475 Valley Road. The League of Women Voters in Wayne is sponsoring the event.

The candidates are squaring off because long-time Republican Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen is retiring. It will be the first time since 1992 that Frelinghuysen won't be on the ballot.

President Donald Trump carried the district in 2016, but with less than 50 percent of the vote, and Frelinghuysen would have faced a steeper-than-usual fight for reelection had he not announced his retirement.

That Republican security could change this election, the Cook Political Report thinks. The non-partisan group is now considering the race to "lean Democratic," one of two New Jersey districts they're predicting could flip from Republican to Democrat this November (the other being NJ-02). Polls say that the race is close, with a recent Monmouth University poll showing Sherrill leading Webber by four percentage points, 48 percent to 44 percent. She maintains a lead if you adjust polling for a Democratic surge, or if you adjust it for low turnout.

Both Webber and Sherrill have earned endorsements from the highest ranks of their parties. Former Vice President Joe Biden has campaigned on Sherrill's behalf, while incumbent Vice President Mike Pence has stumped for Webber. Webber has also garnered support from President Donald Trump via an endorsement Tweet, something the Webber camp has not played up. (Former President Obama has not endorsed Sherrill, despite endorsing other New Jersey Democrats.)

The general election is Nov. 6. The winner will begin their term in January 2019.

With reporting by Katie Kausch, Patch staff

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photos: Mikie Sherrill and Assemblyman Jay Webber (Courtesy of their respective campaigns)