Democrat Analilia Mejia and Republican Joe Hathaway squared off Wednesday afternoon in what is expected to be the sole debate before this month’s special election in the 11th congressional district.
The two debated over the Trump administration, costs, healthcare, Israel, and the war in Iran over the course of a 70-minute debate. They are competing to replace Mikie Sherrill, who resigned from the 11th congressional district to assume the governorship, and Mejia, a progressive and former Bernie Sanders staffer, is the favorite in the April 16th election.
On affordability, Hathaway said reducing the footprint of government, especially taxes, will make life more affordable for New Jerseyans. He criticized Mejia’s proposals for broadened government healthcare, which he said would increase the burden on taxpayers.
“I think in order for us to make life more affordable here, it has to start with lowering costs,” Hathaway said. “That’s why just about everything in our platform is about lowering the role of government, lowering taxes to help make life more affordable.”
Mejia, meanwhile, argued that a Republican-controlled White House and Congress have overseen and allowed recent price increases in many arenas of life, including healthcare and energy costs. She said she would push for a reinstatement of Affordable Care Act tax credits and the implementation of energy tax credits.
“My opponent will speak a nice game about affordability, but in fact, Republicans like himself and Donald Trump have been driving your economic instability, and you don’t have to take my word for it,” she said.
Hathaway said he also wants a return to ACA subsidies and that he disagrees with the president on issues like tariffs, saying he will not be a “rubber stamp” for Trump.
“Some of the things she mentioned, like ACA subsidies and tariffs, are areas where I disagree with the President, where I may disagree with some members of my party,” Hathaway said. “But the most important thing is that whoever goes out to Washington is doing what’s right for the district.”
Neither promised to support their respective party leaders in the House — Mike Johnson for Republicans and Hakeem Jeffries for Democrats — but both generally complimented the work of the person who would be their respective leader.
Mejia reiterated that she would support the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; she said she opposes the militarization of police but still thinks the U.S. should oversee its immigration laws, but didn’t give a specific mechanism she’d use to do so. Mejia and other Democrats have criticized ICE for aggressive enforcement operations across the country.
“[ICE] has a recruitment problem, it has an accountability problem, it has a training problem, it has an oversight problem,” Mejia said. “Instead of nibbling around the edges, what we should do is invest in a system that works for everyone.”
Hathaway declined to say whether he considered himself a “MAGA” Republican, instead referring to himself as “a new generation of Republican” focused on returning to supporting business and individual freedom. Mejia, for her part, said she didn’t consider herself a socialist, but Hathaway attacked her for receiving the endorsement of democratic socialists in Congress.
Mejia said Hathaway is not truly a moderate, saying he voted thrice for Donald Trump.
She didn’t say whether she believed Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza, but she did accuse the country of violating international law, saying Israel cut electricity to water desalination plants and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undercut freedom in the region.
“I believe that criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration is not anti-Israel any more than criticism of Donald Trump is anti-American,” she said.
Hathaway criticized her, saying she blamed Israel for the 2023 attacks from Hamas and called the war a genocide. Hathaway said he opposed conditions for aid to Israel.
“These are positions that are radically out of touch with a district that has a thriving Jewish community that is made less safe and more dangerous by this extreme rhetoric,” he said.
“As a member of Congress, I would use every legislative power at my disposal to protect the rights of Jewish constituents and convene spaces to educate and to fight anti-Semitism, because I know it’s real,” she said. “I am an Afro-Latina living in the United States; I know how dangerous othering is. But that doesn’t mean that we cannot call into question violations [of] international law and human rights.”
Mejia criticized the war in Iran, while Hathaway said Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and hopes the war comes to a close soon.
In a section allowing the candidates to ask questions of each other, Hathaway asked her about a comment she reportedly made in which she called Jesus a socialist, as well as a tweet in which she listed public services to criticize those who decry socialism. Mejia said Jesus supported women’s healthcare, protected immigrants, fed the hungry, and more.
“In John 13:34, he speaks about loving each other like we love ourselves,” Mejia said. “The policies I speak about are about focusing on human beings. It’s not about left or right, it’s about right and wrong.”
Mejia asked Hathaway who won the 2020 presidential election and whether he would oppose an attempt from Donald Trump to secure a third term as president. Hathaway said Joe Biden won that election, and that he would fight against an unconstitutional third term. Still, Mejia said he would only support the president if elected.
“When I was fighting to ensure that every vote would count, he was silent, because here’s the truth: in the end, if you send Joe Hathaway to Congress, he’s going to vote like a Trump. He sounds like a Trump, and he’ll just be more Trump,” Mejia said.
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.
In her closing statement, Mejia said she would challenge Trump in Congress, lower costs, and improve access to healthcare.
“I have spent 25 years working on behalf of justice, of freedom,” Mejia said. “I’ve helped raise wages for millions of Americans and New Jerseyans, and I stand on principles, and if you pause to consider, you know you share many of these.”
Hathaway closed with a statement about his father, a former Middlesex County sheriff’s officer, who died last month at age 80.
“He knew what was most important: your integrity, your honesty, and your willingness to put the needs of others before your own,” Hathaway said. “My dad’s character helped shape the man that I am. I hope it’ll shape the congressman I become.”
The New Jersey Globe and Rider University sponsored the debate. Joey Fox, the New Jersey Globe’s Washington reporter, served as the debate moderator. 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, served as panelists.
You can watch the debate here.