Here's 3 Morris Co. Officials Vying For Mikie Sherrill’s Spot In Congress

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — With Mikie Sherrill projected to win the 2025 gubernatorial election, that leaves her seat in Congress up for grabs, and three Morris County officials have thrown their hats into the ring.

Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, Morris Township Deputy Mayor Jeff Grayzel, and Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland are among several candidates looking to represent the 11th District of New Jersey following Sherrill’s departure.

Joe Hathaway has served as Randolph’s mayor since he was appointed in 2024. Before that, he served on the council starting in 2022.

After a few years of dipping his toes in municipal government, Hathaway announced his run to represent District 11 in October.

Professionally, Hathaway has managed executive communications and operations in the healthcare industry, both at global pharmaceutical companies and healthcare technology and marketing agencies. The Yale alum has also worked in finance, at both publicly traded companies and insurance firms.

In a campaign video, Hathaway said that New Jersey needs to elect a GOP lawmaker who will “put in the hours,” accusing Sherrill of “skipping the hard work just to chase the next job.”

“Washington doesn’t need more show ponies,” he said. “It needs workhorses ready to get in the trenches.”

According to the New Jersey Globe, Hathaway expected fellow Republican Jack Ciattarelli to be the Garden State’s next governor and to face Sherrill head-on in her reelection attempt.

That now seems unlikely, and Hathaway will instead face off against several other contenders, including the Deputy Mayor of Morris Township.

Several local Republicans are endorsing Hathaway, including former Mayor Marie Potter and former Morris County GOP Chair John Sette, according to the New Jersey Globe.

Grayzel was just reelected to the Morris Township council earlier this month, but is looking for a change of scenery in Congress. He served as the township’s first Democratic mayor in 2019 after serving on the council since 2007.

The Democrat's congressional campaign promises to “take on Donald Trump and win.”

The Columbia, Cornell alum, and engineer worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb for ten years and now runs a medical device firm.

He, too, has received some endorsements, including one from the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters.

“I have a long record of taking on Republicans and winning,” a Grayzel statement read. “I’m disgusted that Donald Trump is getting away with shredding our democracy, and won’t stand by as Trump and his MAGA lackeys in Congress carry out his fascist, authoritarian agenda. Support me in my campaign to fight Trump at every turn and use every bit of leverage we have in Congress to hold him accountable.”

U.S. Army veteran, ex-Pentagon official, and Chatham Councilman Strickland has also thrown his hat in the ring to replace the congresswoman. He's been on the council since 2023 and is looking to step up to the plate in Congress.

The former Captain in the U.S. Army and an Iraq War Combat Veteran spent many years overseas before returning to work for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. In that time, he was part of the team responsible for economic development in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Texas native has since moved to New Jersey and has been serving Chatham as a Democrat for years.

"Justin grew up poor without much," his campaign website reads. "Through a college education, service to his country in the military, and Washington, D.C., he achieved the American Dream. Today, the American Dream is nearly impossible. Justin wants to fix that."

He's been endorsed by VOTE VETS and the Morris County Council of Education Associations.

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

An election – including a primary – will take place to choose a replacement to fill Sherrill’s unexpired term. This will leave the state’s 11th district temporarily without a representative in Congress once she resigns in January.

See more: NJ Candidates Line Up To Replace Mikie Sherrill In Congress (See The List)

With reporting from Eric Kiefer.