Analilia Mejia

Rep. Analilia Mejia, elected to represent New Jersey's 11th Congressional District in a special election in April, is a candidate in New Jersey's June 2 primary.

Mejia is filling the unexpired term of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who had represented the 11th Congressional District since 2019 and resigned her seat in January before taking office as New Jersey's chief executive. Mejia's name is on primary ballots now because she is a candidate to represent the district in her own right in November's general election.

We interviewed Mejia and her three Democratic challengers — Donald Cresitello, Joseph Lewis and Justin Strickland — for the 11th Congressional District nomination about their backgrounds and priorities, if elected. Here's what they said:

Donald Cresitello

Background: Cresitello, 79, served two terms as Morristown mayor in the 1970s and 2000s and was on the town planning board. He also ran a construction company involved in commercial and affordable housing projects.

Priorities: Protecting the Constitution and civil rights; reversing Medicaid funding cuts; eliminating President Donald Trump's tariffs; continuing U.S. support for Ukraine, which Cresitello described as "important for national security."

"I think I’m well qualified to be a congressperson, I certainly am known to be an independent Democrat. I do what’s best for the people. I am absolutely funding this election with my own money. I am not bought and paid for. I am not responsible to any power brokers in Essex County or anywhere else."

Website: www.don4nj11.com

Joseph Lewis

Background: Lewis, 57, has spent 20 years in the tech sector, first as a software engineer and now as a tech lead, helping engineers to bring products to market. He lives in Montville in Morris County.

Priorities: Repeal Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and reinvest its tax cuts for high earners to middle-class tax relief; reinstate Obamacare health insurance subsidies and make them permanent; work with local organizations to combat antisemitism, Islamophobia and other discrimination.

"I have worked in technology for over 20 years, working with all kinds of people from diverse backgrounds to bring practical solutions to problems, and that's what I want to do when I get to Washington. ... The prices of everything —food, groceries, health care — are going up, and nothing's changing in Washington."

Website: www.josephblewis.com/

Rep. Analilia Mejia

Background: Mejia, 48, is a former labor and political organizer in New Jersey who also served as national political director in Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. The Glen Ridge resident touts her working-class roots as the daughter of Colombian and Dominican immigrants.

Priorities: Fix an economy and democracy "rigged" for the ultra-wealthy; adopt judicial ethics reform, including for the U.S. Supreme Court; reverse the impact of Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited campaign donations from corporations, labor unions and other groups.

"We need to ensure that the voices of the people are more important than the big, moneyed interests. We need to make sure that we have the kind of guard rails that allow our families to thrive, that we have tax policies that allow our middle class and our working class communities to thrive, and aren't essentially just siphoning away resources to big corporations."

Website: www.analiliafornj.com

Justin Strickland

Background: A member of Chatham borough council, Strickland, 47, grew up in an "incredibly poor" family in Texas before joining the Army and serving two years in Iraq, where he was awarded a Bronze Star. He later worked for the Pentagon on economic development in Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. He currently works in enterprise IT.

Priorities: Creating a federal "public option" health insurance plan modeled after the VA system; changing Social Security to allow spouses to collect a deceased partner's benefits for two years; adopting term limits for members of Congress and the Supreme Court.

"I was a platoon leader [in Iraq], and so I was responsible for making life and death decisions for 34 soldiers, of very diverse backgrounds from all around the country, and I had to lead them through very difficult situations, and so I don't scare very easily."