Special election to fill Mikie Sherrill's U.S. House seat will be held in April

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has announced that the special election to fill vacant U.S. House seat previously held by Democratic Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will take place on April 16.

Following Sherrill's resignation, Murphy issued a writ of election to fill the vacancy, setting a deadline for primary candidates to file nominating petitions as early as December 1. The special primary election is scheduled for February 5, and the filing deadline has been met with at least 10 Democrats and one Republican already throwing their hats into the ring.

The crowded Democratic field includes Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, among others. In contrast to Murphy's efforts to limit participation in the special primary, National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole has criticized his move as a "blatant attempt to protect Democratic insiders and silence voters."

Sherrill herself defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the recent gubernatorial election by a 14-point margin. The vacant House seat is located within parts of Essex, Morris, and Passaic counties.

To prepare for the April general election, early voting will begin on January 29 for the primary, followed by the special general election from April 6 through April 14.

As the campaign heats up, voters can expect to see a range of candidates vying for the seat previously held by Sherrill. Whoever wins will fill out the remainder of her current term, which ends in January 2027.

I'm literally freaking out thinking about this election ! A special election already?! I mean, I know it's been a while since Sherrill resigned, but come on, can't we just have some time to process everything? December for primary filings feels so rushed. And don't even get me started on the early voting... January 29th is like, what even is that?! It's still winter, folks! Can't we just get our first taste of spring before we're supposed to be making life-altering decisions over a piece of paper?

And honestly, I'm not sure why Murphy is being so restrictive with the participation in this special primary. Doesn't he want us to have a say in this whole thing?! It feels like he's trying to control the narrative and push out fresh faces instead of letting the voters pick who they really want to represent them. And what about all the other candidates, Gill, Malinowski, Way... don't they deserve a chance to run?!

I'm so torn right now because I want to be excited for this election, but at the same time, I just feel like we're being thrown into the deep end without giving ourselves enough time to breathe. Can someone please just tell me what's going on and how I can actually make a difference?!

The special election thing is kinda weird, right? I mean, it's like they're trying to make sure that whoever gets the seat doesn't actually get a chance to represent their actual constituents... What's up with that? And then you got all these people running for it, like it's some kind of popularity contest. Can't we just have one person who actually cares about the area they're representing? The Republican is gonna be hard to beat, considering Sherrill won by 14 points last time...

omg, this is gonna be SO interesting ! i mean, who would've thought there'd be like a bunch of ppl throwin themselves into this election already ? it's like they're all just tryna be a part of somethin special . i'm low-key curious about Brendan Gill tho , he seems kinda nice & down-to-earth . and what's with the Republican candidate, Jack Ciattarelli ? didn't he run against Sherrill in the last election & lost by 14 points ?? it'll be sweet to see him tryna take back that seat !

omg i'm already worried about this special election lol idk if it's gonna be a real test for any candidate , with so many dems throwing their hats into the ring, it feels like just more infighting within the party . and can we talk about how crazy it is that murphy issued that writ of election? it's like he wants to make sure only "his" people get a shot at this seat . i'm rooting for someone with actual grassroots cred, not just some politician who's been around the block a few times

A special election on April 16, how exciting... for the politicians, that is . It's like they're trying to distract us from the real issues with a fancy vote. And who wouldn't want to participate in a crowded Democratic field where it's basically just "the same old faces" . Meanwhile, the Republicans are already criticizing Murphy's move as some kind of power play... yeah, no kidding .

But hey, at least early voting is coming on January 29, so we can start pretending to care about this whole thing a little bit earlier . And let's be real, whoever wins will just be filling out the rest of Sherrill's term, basically giving up on trying to make a difference in the first place .

I'm sure it'll all come down to who can raise the most money and buy themselves into office... or at least that's what I've seen happen with most elections . Can't wait for April 16th... not .

omg cant believe its already that close to filling Mikie's seat she left just in time for this drama think whoever gets it will have their work cut out gonna be super interesting to see what these candidates throw at each other during the campaign

omg u gotta believe phil murphy is just tryna control the whole thing rn like he's literally makin it hard for voters to participate in the primary lol what's up with that? at least there's some decent candidates on the democrat side tho, like Brendan Gill and Tom Malinowski. and omg, don't even get me started on maureen o'toole from the national republican committee she's just spewin out these crazy conspiracy theories anywayz, can't wait to see what happens in this election it's gonna be a wild ride

omg i cant even believe its already gonna be april again lol like we just had christmas and new year and now were talking about elections i mean idk who sherrill is but if she resigned then who cares about the vacant seat anyway? maybe they should have special elections every month or something it sounds sooo long to wait for march