New Jersey Democrats secured another congressional seat Thursday as Republican and independent voters failed to turn out for the NJ-11 special primary election, replacing former Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill who recently became the state's governor.
The lackluster turnout tells a troubling story for the GOP - only 97,000 votes were cast out of 617,000 registered voters in the district. Social media user @Katemcv60 pointed out the obvious problem: "The special election was won by a democrat because republicans and independents did show up to vote."
This pattern isn't isolated to New Jersey. The same voter apathy hit Republican chances in New York and Virginia races, where registered GOP voters and independents simply didn't bother showing up on election day.
Democrats Mobilized While GOP Slept
Democratic activists were out in full force promoting their candidate Analilia Mejia. Social media user @ChadxMichael urged followers to "Vote Analilia Mejia for New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election!" and reminded voters that the "Democratic Party Primary is TODAY!"
Meanwhile, where was the Republican ground game? Where were the MAGA activists rallying conservative voters to the polls?
"We have an election today in New Jersey. Stay focused!" @ChadxMichael posted, showing more election awareness than many GOP organizers apparently had.
This is exactly the kind of complacency that cost Republicans winnable races during the Trump era. Yes, President Trump is back in the White House and Republicans control Washington - but that doesn't mean we can afford to sleepwalk through local elections.
Wake-Up Call for 2026
Every congressional seat matters, especially with Trump's ambitious America First agenda moving through Congress. Losing winnable districts because our voters stayed home is political malpractice.
The question Patriots need to ask: If we can't turn out voters for special elections when Trump is president and momentum should be on our side, what happens during the midterms? Democrats are clearly organizing and showing up - are we?