Mejia, Hathaway will face off in first debate on April 1

The first debate between Democrat Analilia Mejia and Republican Joe Hathaway will take place on Wednesday, April 1, at 4:00 8:00 PM. The debate is sponsored by the New Jersey Globe, and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University.

Mejia and Hathaway are competing in an April 16 special election in New Jersey’s 11th district to fill the unexpired term of Mikie Sherrill, who resigned last November following her election as governor of New Jersey.

The 60-minute debate will be streamed on the New Jersey Globe, Facebook Live, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube, and will also air on C-SPAN.   The New Jersey Globe will restream the debate daily through Election Day.

Joey Fox, the New Jersey Globe’s Washington reporter, will serve as the debate moderator.  Panelists are Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute, and Jeannine LaRue, a New Jersey civil rights leader with an extensive career in government and politics.

This is expected to be the only debate in the NJ-11 special election.  Both candidates have accepted invitations extended by the New Jersey Globe.

Mejia scored an upset victory in a special Democratic primary on February 5, defeating former Rep. Tom Malinowski, 29%-28%, in a crowded field.  The former labor leader served as national political director of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, and as director of New Jersey Working Families.

Hathaway is the former mayor of Randolph and a former aide to Gov. Chris Christie.

Editor’s note: The decision to hold the debate on the first night of Passover was made alone by the New Jersey Globe.  It will be available to all viewers at their convenience for the duration of the campaign, as streaming frequently does, and will be repeated sixteen times before Election Day.