New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill's vacant Congress seat could be filled by Black Catholic comedian

With the candidate deadline past for the special election in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district, a full slate of Democrats have filed to compete for Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives—including at least one Black Catholic.

Sherrill resigned from Congress on Nov. 20 following her win on Election Day, opening up a solid-blue seat that has attracted a wide range of hopefuls ahead of a February primary.

Among the 13 candidates who filed are J-L Cauvin, a Haitian-American comedian and attorney known for his viral online parodies of President Donald Trump. The 46-year-old New York native is angling as a foil to the Republican leader, emphasizing healthcare, gerontocracy, and the housing crisis in his early weeks of candidacy.

“Like so many families, mine taught me that if you work hard, if you speak up, and if you look out for the people around you, you can build a good life,” Cauvin, a practicing Catholic, said in an announcement video on Nov. 21.

“They also taught me that sometimes you fight for your respect and your place. That's what the American dream meant to us, something that was worth fighting for.”

Also running is Analilia Mejia, a progressive known for her work with the Biden administration, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as well as labor and civil rights groups. Like Cauvin, the 48-year-old Afro-Latina is seeking her first elected office but has the backing of Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

“In this moment where everything feels impossible, I know that community can get us through,” said Mejia, who noted that she will not accept corporate PAC contributions.

“As a policy leader and grassroots organizer, I've won big fights for working families, protecting fairness in our democracy, raising the minimum wage to 15 and beyond, and paid sick days for all workers. Now, I'm running to bring that fight to Washington.”

Other Democrats in the race include New Jersey’s Catholic-educated Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, former Maplewood mayor Dean Dafis, and former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski, who lost a 2022 reelection bid in the 7th district.

Though some pollsters have Malinowski as the frontrunner in the special election for the 11th district, Gill has picked up a number of major endorsements, including from Gov. Phil Murphy, the Essex County Democratic Committee, labor unions, and a laundry list of local and state electeds.

With the election just two months away, the strained timeline made headlines this week with Gill’s Essex County endorsement coming under fire for its “rushed and chaotic” nature, in the words of candidate Zach Beecher.

“Let the voters decide,” he urged, as much of a Monday virtual convention gathering consisted of debate on whether to endorse at all. After a narrow vote to proceed, Gill won the party’s support by a vote of 51.5%, with more than 35% of those present voting to abstain. Malinowski was the only other candidate to receive more than 10 votes, topping out at 6.6%.

Several candidates were present on the call to promote their campaign, including Cauvin, but former Morris Township Deputy Mayor Jeff Grayzel boycotted the event, calling it “rigged” for Gill.

“As a comedian, this is pretty funny if you're observing it, but [not] if you're actually taking part in it, all the time knowing that they were going to endorse Brendan Gill, which they did,” Cauvin added on social media.

“We all spoke for two minutes, and then they picked the guy we all knew they were gonna pick.”

Further complicating matters is the stacked nature of the special election, which will come just months before a primary for the 2026 midterm election. The latter race will determine who fills the same 11th district seat beginning in January 2027, after Sherrill’s term expires.

As of Thursday afternoon, the New Jersey Division of Elections has yet to post filing deadlines for the midterm race, the primary for which is currently scheduled on Tuesday, June 2. 

For the special election, voter registration closes on Thursday, Jan. 15, ahead of the primary on Feb. 5. Early voting begins Jan. 29 and runs through Feb. 3. The special general election will take place April 16.

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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