Overview
- Mejia, projected the winner Thursday night over Republican Joe Hathaway, will be sworn in to finish Mikie Sherrill’s term and cut the GOP majority to 218–214.
- The progressive organizer, backed by Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, ran on universal health care and higher taxes on the wealthy, while Hathaway cast himself as a non–rubber-stamp Republican.
- In February, she narrowly topped former Rep. Tom Malinowski after an AIPAC-aligned super PAC spent about $2.3 million attacking him, a move many strategists say opened a lane for her as she criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
- Heading into the special, federal filings showed Mejia roughly doubled Hathaway’s fundraising as the Democratic-leaning district, which Harris carried by 9 points in 2024 and Sherrill won by 15, set expectations for a Democratic hold.
- She is expected to serve immediately and then compete in a June primary for the full term, a next test of whether a progressive message can keep winning in affluent North Jersey suburbs and further tighten House vote math.