Republican Joe Hathaway has spent the last few months arguing that he’s the most reasonable and bipartisan candidate running for the 11th congressional district, and he’s putting out a trio of new endorsements from former Democratic officials in the district to back that up.
Denny Klein, the former Democratic municipal chair in North Caldwell; Steve Rovell, a former councilman in Belleville; and Michael Goldberg, a former village trustee in South Orange, all said today that they prefer Hathaway to Democratic nominee Analilia Mejia, a staunch progressive.
“Joe brings integrity and a moderate, independent voice to the table, and he’s focused on delivering real results for NJ-11 families, not dangerous rhetoric,” Klein said in a statement. “[That’s] unlike his opponent, who I believe has demonstrated in her socialist political philosophy and non-support for the state of Israel a lack of the Democratic values that I subscribe to.”
Rovell and Goldberg both held nonpartisan offices, but Rovell described himself as a “conservative Democrat” in his 2022 campaign against Belleville Mayor Michael Melham (an independent who has allied with both Republicans and Democrats), while Goldberg said he “almost always votes for and endorses Democrats.”
Unlike many other Republicans running for office this year, Hathaway, the former mayor of Randolph, has been relatively explicit in his breaks with his party and his criticisms of President Donald Trump. The president’s administration, he has said, should not be trying to cancel the Gateway Tunnel or place an immigrant detention facility in a nearby town.
That’s likely necessary in a seat that Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried by 15 percentage points last year; Mejia, who won the Democratic primary to succeed Sherrill in an upset last month, is considered the heavy favorite in the April 16 special election.