Malinowski would ‘of course’ be interested in NJ-11 campaign if Sherrill is elected governor

If Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) wins this year’s race for governor, could former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes), who represented a neighboring district for four years, make the leap into her seat? For the first time, Malinowski is publicly saying he’s considering it.

Malinowski, now the chairman of the Hunterdon County Democrats, told the New Jersey Globe today that while he’s focused for now on making sure Sherrill is indeed elected governor, he’d be interested in running for the 11th district in a special election to succeed her.

“My priority for the next few months, and that of every Democrat, must be to help Mikie Sherrill our next governor, and to make sure Trump doesn’t get a win in New Jersey this November,” Malinowski said. “Once that’s done, my response to everyone who has been reaching out is that of course I would be interested in running to fill the vacancy in the 11th district, so that it continues to have the strongest and most experienced representation at this difficult moment for our country.”

“But let’s focus on electing Mikie first,” he added.

A hypothetical Malinowski campaign, if it comes to pass, would instantly upend the nascent Democratic primary for the 11th district’s as-yet-nonexistent special election. It could also mark a triumphant, if somewhat unusual, return to Congress for the former congressman, who hasn’t strayed far from the political fray in his time out of Washington.

Malinowski, a former U.S. State Department official during the Obama administration, and Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, were both first elected as part of the 2018 blue wave election that handed Democrats control of the House. Having never run for office before, Malinowski unseated Rep. Leonard Lance (R-Clinton) in the 7th district while Sherrill spooked Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-Harding) into retirement in the 11th district and easily flipped his open seat.

But in 2022, when the state’s redistricting commission approved a new congressional map, their paths diverged. Sherrill, seen as a potential future statewide candidate, was given a much bluer district and won re-election easily; Malinowski, bruised from a close 2020 race and beset by a House Ethics Committee investigation into his stock activity, was redrawn into a tougher seat and lost to now-Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield).

Malinowski considered waging a comeback campaign for the 7th district last year but decided against it, instead running for and winning a race for Hunterdon Democratic chair. In that capacity, he endorsed Sherrill’s campaign for governor in a competitive six-way Democratic primary; Sherrill ended up winning Hunterdon County 50% to Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop’s 18%.

Malinowski has never lived in or particularly near to the boundaries of the current 11th district, and his home turf in Hunterdon County is entirely located in the 7th district, potentially opening him up to accusations of carpetbagging. But the towns of Dover and Millburn were moved from the 7th district into the 11th during the last round of redistricting, and Malinowski likely retains some name recognition and goodwill across the New York media market following his three expensive campaigns for Congress. (He’s also set to teach at Seton Hall in South Orange this fall.)

Moreover, as a former congressman, Malinowski has a national profile and political connections that few, if any, of his potential 11th district opponents can match. In a race that would likely only last a few months, the state and local politicians who might also run for the district could find themselves drowned out by someone who’s already been through the rigors of a congressional campaign thrice. 

But as Malinowski’s cautiously worded statement suggests, he and other ambitious politicians in the 11th district have to play their cards close to the chest for now. There’s no guarantee that Sherrill will win this November’s race against Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli, and if she doesn’t, then any discussions of her would-be successor could become instantly moot.

If she does win, the timeline for a special election remains somewhat in doubt; current state law would leave her seat vacant for months, but a bill proposed by State Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-South Brunswick) could shorten that timeframe considerably and lead to a special Democratic primary in early February 2026.

Republicans, too, might try to make a play for flipping the seat in a special election, which would likely draw quite a bit of national attention as a bellwether ahead of the 2026 midterms. The 11th district voted for Kamala Harris by nine percentage points last year, though, so Democrats aren’t acting especially nervous about retaining control of the district if Sherrill is elected governor.