Maplewood Town Committee Member Is Running To Replace Mikie Sherrill In Congress

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — A town committee member in Maplewood has officially thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate to replace Mikie Sherrill in the House of Representatives.

Earlier this week, former Maplewood mayor Dean Dafis announced that he is running for a seat in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district. Learn more about his campaign platform here.

Sherrill has been projected as the winner of New Jersey’s 2025 gubernatorial election. She is currently serving as a House member in the state’s 11th congressional district, which spans dozens of towns in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties (see list below).

On Wednesday, Dafis became the latest contender to replace the governor-elect.

“I want to go to Washington to speak truth to power, to invest in our communities, and to build greater safety nets for all of us: people over power, community over markets,” the Maplewood Township Committee member said.

What should voters in the 11th district expect if he is elected? According to Dafis:

“I’m running on a pro-democracy, working and middle-class families platform – in other words, what my local and statewide public service has always focused on the past decade in New Jersey. I’ve fought for greater opportunity, access, and fairness, and delivered results for working class folks across New Jersey. I grew up blue collar in an immigrant household, watched my parents struggle and fight for their standing and access in our great country, did the same for my dignity and human rights as a gay man during AIDS, conversion therapy, police raids, closets … and still do today thanks to ongoing efforts to hold us down / roll us back. I struggled financially and experienced housing insecurity. My parents’ struggles, my own – they fueled my civil rights advocacy, my legal career in legal aid and later on Wall Street, my housing work today, inspired my hustle for working folks. I still believe in the American Dream, in economic justice, fairness and opportunity, and I know most of us believe in these things too.”

Sherrill was re-elected in 2024. Her term ends in January 2027.

The congresswoman will need to resign from her seat to take her new job as governor on Jan. 20. An election – including a primary – will take place to choose a replacement to fill her unexpired term. An election date hasn’t been set.

• See Related: NJ Candidates Line Up To Replace Mikie Sherrill In Congress

New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District includes the following municipalities:

Essex County – Belleville, Bloomfield, Cedar Grove, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair (part), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, South Orange, West Caldwell

Morris County – Boonton, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham, Chatham Township, Denville, Dover, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Twp (part), Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown Town, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway, Rockaway Township, Victory Gardens

Passaic County – Little Falls, Totowa, Wayne (part), Woodland Park

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