2026年4月16日 05:00:19 EDT / 福克斯新闻频道
‘试驾共和党人’：共和党国会候选人在民主党掌控的选区打出大胆竞选口号
作者：保罗·施泰因豪泽 福克斯新闻
发布于2026年4月16日 5:00am EDT
共和党人乔·哈撒韦告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，新泽西州国会特别选举的选民将“选择常识而非社会主义”
新泽西州周四国会特别选举的共和党候选人乔·哈撒韦指责其民主党对手阿纳利莉亚·梅希亚宣扬“极左翼意识形态”。
NEW 您现在可以收听福克斯新闻文章！
收听本文
6分钟
新泽西州伦道夫市——共和党人乔·哈撒韦旨在拿下新泽西州北部一个倾向民主党的选区的空置国会席位。
“我认为我们掌握了正确的票数、正确的跨党派联盟，能够携手赢得这场选举，”乐观的哈撒韦本周在接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时说道。
哈撒韦将与民主党候选人阿纳利莉亚·梅希亚展开对决，后者得到了进步派领袖、佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯和邻州纽约州众议员亚历山德里亚·奥卡西奥-科特兹的支持。本次特别选举将于周四在新泽西州第11国会选区举行。获胜者将完成前民主党众议员米基·谢里尔剩余的8个月任期，谢里尔去年11月在当选新泽西州州长后辞去了国会职务。
福克斯新闻独家报道：众议院共和党人在纳税日之前瞄准数十名‘脆弱’民主党议员
2026年1月20日，新泽西州州长米基·谢里尔在纽瓦克的就职仪式上宣誓就职后准备发言。（塞思·温尼格/美联社）
此次特别选举之际，共和党正凭借微弱优势掌控众议院多数席位，他们将非常渴望拿下这个谢里尔在2024年连任选举中以15个百分点优势获胜的郊区选区，且该选区在去年的州长选举中也以相近优势支持民主党候选人。但考虑到当前艰难的政治环境以及在野党候选人通常面临的不利因素，对于选票上带有“R”（共和党）标识的候选人来说，这是一项艰巨的任务。
要想有获胜的可能，哈撒韦需要获得独立选民和跨党派民主党人的支持。
他对这些选民表示：“哪怕你以前从未投过共和党人的票，现在也有机会试驾一名共和党人，让我前往华盛顿。我会向你证明，我会说到做到。”
在提及梅希亚时，哈撒韦认为该选区的选民将在本次选举中“选择常识而非社会主义”。
梅希亚是一名进步派组织者，曾在2020年桑德斯的总统竞选团队中担任全国政治主任。她在2月的民主党初选中爆冷胜出，在11名候选人组成的参选阵营中以微弱优势击败了更为温和的对手、前众议员汤姆·马利诺夫斯基。尽管梅希亚显然得到了党内左翼的支持，但其他候选人似乎分流了温和派和中间偏左选民的选票。
众议院议长约翰逊获得增援，共和党凭借微弱优势维持多数席位
阿纳利莉亚·梅希亚在特别选举中赢得民主党提名，该选举将选出接替新当选州长米基·谢里尔空出的国会席位。（希瑟·哈利法/彭博社 via 盖蒂图片社）
她的胜利是左翼对抗建制派的又一次胜利，此前纽约市民主社会主义者市长佐赫兰·曼达尼在2025年6月的民主党初选中获胜，震惊全美政坛。
哈撒韦曾担任伦道夫镇镇长，现任市议员，在共和党国会初选中未遇对手。他强调，选民的选择是“在一位务实、有常识的独立领袖和一位纯粹靠意识形态参选的人之间做出抉择。前者在新泽西州地方层面切实办成了事，了解各类议题；后者则宣扬极左翼意识形态，得到‘ Squad’（进步派议员团体）的支持”。
梅希亚最近与马利诺夫斯基共同出席了一场市政厅活动，并于周日与谢里尔一同出现在竞选活动中，旨在团结该选区登记选民数量占优的民主党人。
哈撒韦声称梅希亚如今正“在部分言论中试图掩饰这一点，因为她清楚那些政策完全脱离实际，但这骗不了选民，当然也骗不了我们”。
犹太选民是该选区选民群体的关键组成部分。哈撒韦在本次特别选举唯一一场辩论中指责梅希亚反犹，指出她曾称以色列在加沙实施种族灭绝。
“她将10月7日哈马斯发动的袭击归咎于以色列，”哈撒韦说，“我认为该选区的犹太选民，无论共和党还是民主党，都非常害怕这种言论。”
桑德斯-奥卡西奥-科特兹盟友即将进入国会之际，进步派再次击败民主党温和派
共和党国会候选人乔·哈撒韦于2026年4月13日在新泽西州伦道夫的伦道夫 diner 与选民交流。（保罗·施泰因豪泽/福克斯新闻）
哈撒韦表示：“我与许多犹太选民交谈过，他们告诉我自己这辈子从未投过共和党人的票，但这次会把票投给我。这足以说明犹太选民对本次选举的重视程度，以及他们为何不认同梅希亚……以及她的竞选纲领。”
梅希亚承诺“保护犹太选民的权利”，并表示她对以色列在加沙行动的批评不应被等同于反犹主义。
在给福克斯新闻数字频道的一份声明中，梅希亚表示：“乔·哈撒韦无法区分对政府或政府官员的批评与偏执，这既令人不安，又同样令人作呕。”
梅希亚上周在社交媒体上表示，在获得自由派亲以色列政治团体J Street PAC的背书后，她“深感荣幸”。但她接受该背书引发了左翼内部的反对，北新泽西州民主社会主义者组织称此举为“倒戈”。
哈撒韦在争取独立选民和民主党人支持的过程中，点明了自己与总统唐纳德·特朗普的共识与分歧——特朗普在2024年总统选举中以8个百分点的劣势输掉了该选区。
共和党获胜但民主党也称在特朗普传统票仓的投票箱激增中取得胜利
2026年4月11日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在佛罗里达州迈阿密国际机场走下空军一号后向媒体挥手。（塔索斯·卡托波迪斯/盖蒂图片社）
“我永远会将本选区的利益放在首位。我已经明确表态：如果总统的举措对本选区有利，比如提高州和地方税抵扣上限，让民众的钱包鼓起来，尤其是对新泽西州而言，这里的生活成本高得离谱；又比如加强边境安全，减少芬太尼导致的死亡人数，就像我们社区已经看到的那样。这些都是好事，我会支持这些政策，”哈撒韦说。
“但另一方面，如果总统的举措不符合本选区的最佳利益，我的职责就是提出反对，而这正是我一直在做的，”他强调道。
哈撒韦指出，特朗普去年终止了哈德逊河下连接新泽西州和纽约州的新铁路隧道项目“Gateway项目”的数十亿美元联邦资金，以及计划削减位于新泽西州的陆军基地的约1000个工作岗位和近10亿美元资金。
“我会在这场竞选中公公正断，不会做任何人的橡皮图章，”哈撒韦说。
他宣扬道：“我认为我们掌握了正确的票数、正确的跨党派联盟，能够在4月16日赢得这场选举。”
2026年4月13日，新泽西州伦道夫市的NJ-11国会特别选举竞选标语，分别支持共和党候选人乔·哈撒韦和民主党候选人阿纳利莉亚·梅希亚。（保罗·施泰因豪泽/福克斯新闻）
但费尔利·迪金森大学政治学教授兼民调专家丹·卡西尼奥称，哈撒韦争取跨党派民主党人支持的希望“是白日做梦”。
“整体而言，民主党人似乎并不愿意与特朗普达成妥协，”他预测本次特别选举的大多数选民都会坚定支持本党，“当前民主党选民的投票率极高，而共和党选民的投票率则处于低迷状态。”
卡西尼奥指出，“如今，全国政治主导着一切。我们总说所有政治都是地方政治，但不幸的是，如今所有政治都是全国性的。”
点击此处下载福克斯新闻APP
与此同时，梅希亚将哈撒韦与特朗普和国会共和党人绑定在一起。
“‘让美国再次伟大’的共和党人通过对手支持的极端政策推高了日常成本。医疗保健和关键项目被削减，只是为了给超级富豪提供减税优惠。我们承担不起国会再出现一名特朗普的支持者，”她在社交媒体帖子中写道。
保罗·施泰因豪泽是驻摇摆州新罕布什尔州的政治记者，全程报道各地竞选活动。
House showdown: Democrat backed by Sanders, AOC faces Republican trying to flip blue-leaning district
2026-04-16 05:00:19 EDT / Fox News
‘Test drive a Republican’: GOP congressional candidate makes bold pitch in Democrat-controlled district
By Paul Steinhauser Fox News
Published April 16, 2026 5:00am EDT
Republican Joe Hathaway tells Fox News Digital voters in the special U.S. House election in New Jersey will ‘choose common sense over socialism’
Joe Hathaway, the Republican in Thursday’s special congressional election in New Jersey, charges that his Democratic rival Analilia Mejia is running on ‘far left-wing ideology.’
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
Listen to this article
6 min
RANDOLPH, N.J.— Republican Joe Hathaway aims to flip a vacant U.S. House seat in a blue-leaning district in northern New Jersey.
“I think we have the right math, the right bipartisan coalition to come together to win this thing,” an optimistic Hathaway said this week in a Fox News Digital interview.
Hathaway is facing off against Democrat Analilia Mejia, who is backed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of neighboring New York, in Thursday’s special election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. The winner will fill out the final eight months of the term of Gov. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic representative who stepped down from Congress in November after winning New Jersey’s gubernatorial election.
FIRST ON FOX: HOUSE REPUBLICANS TARGET DOZENS OF ‘VULNERABLE’ DEMOCRATS ON EVE OF TAX DAY
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill prepares to speak after taking the oath of office during an inauguration ceremony, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Newark, N.J.(Seth Wenig/AP)
The special election comes as the GOP clings to a fragile House majority and would relish the opportunity to flip a suburban district Sherrill won by 15 points in her 2024 re-election and carried by roughly the same margin in last year’s gubernatorial election. But given a rough political climate and traditional headwinds for the party in power, it’s a tough task for a candidate with an R next to their name on the ballot.
To have any chance of winning, Hathaway will need the support of independents and crossover Democrats.
He said his message to those voters is, “even if you’ve never voted for a Republican before, you got the chance to test drive one for the next six months, send me to Washington. Let me prove to you I’m going to do what I say.”
Pointing to Mejia, Hathaway argued that voters in the district will “choose common sense over socialism in this race.”
Mejia, a progressive organizer who served as national political director on the 2020 Sanders presidential campaign, pulled off an upset in the February Democratic primary, narrowly edging out more moderate rival former Rep. Tom Malinowski in a field of 11 candidates. While Mejia was the clear choice of the party’s left flank, the rest of the field appeared to divide the moderate and center-left vote.
HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON GETS REINFORCEMENT AS GOP CLINGS TO RAZOR-THIN MAJORITY
Analilia Mejia secured the Democratic Party nomination in a special election to find out who will take over newly-elected New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s vacant House seat.(Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Her victory was another boost for the left against the establishment after democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent shock waves across the nation with his Democratic primary victory in June 2025.
Hathaway, a former Randolph Township mayor and current council member who was uncontested for the GOP congressional nomination, emphasized that the choice for voters is “between a common sense, practical independent leader who’s gotten things done at the local level in New Jersey and knows the issues, contrasted with someone who’s running on pure ideology, far left-wing ideology, Squad-backed ideology.”
Mejia recently appeared at a town hall with Malinowski and on Sunday teamed up with Sherrill on the campaign trail as she aimed to unite Democrats, who enjoy a sizable registration advantage in the district.
Hathaway claimed that Mejia is now trying “to hide from that a little bit in some of her rhetoric, because she knows that those policies are completely out of touch, but it’s not fooling voters. It’s certainly not fooling us.”
Jewish voters make up a key part of the district’s electorate, and Hathaway, in the only debate in the special election, claimed Mejia was antisemitic, noting that she has said Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
“She blamed Israel for the attacks by Hamas on October 7,” Hathaway said. “I think Jewish individuals across this district, Republican or Democrat, are very afraid of this kind of rhetoric.”
PROGRESSIVES NOTCH ANOTHER WIN OVER DEMOCRATIC MODERATES AS SANDERS-AOC ALLY NEARS CONGRESS
Republican congressional candidate Joe Hathaway speaks with voters at the Randolph Diner, on April 13, 2026, in Randolph, New Jersey(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Hathaway said, “I’ve spoken to more members of the Jewish community who have told me they’ve never voted for a Republican in their life, who are going to vote for me in this race. I mean, that shows you where the Jewish community is on the importance of this race and how they are not aligned with Mejia… and her platform.”
Mejia has pledged to “protect the rights of Jewish constituents,” and has said her criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza should not be conflated with antisemitism.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Mejia said that “Joe Hathaway’s inability to distinguish between criticism of a government or government official and bigotry is troubling and disgusting in equal measure.”
Mejia last week wrote that she was “honored” after being endorsed by the liberal pro-Israel political group J Street PAC. But her acceptance of the endorsement triggered pushback on the left, with the North Jersey Democratic Socialists of America calling her move a “heel turn.”
Hathaway, as he aims to win over independents and Democrats, is pointing out where he agrees and disagrees with President Donald Trump, who lost the district by eight points in the 2024 presidential election.
REPUBLICANS WIN BUT DEMOCRATS ALSO CLAIM VICTORY WITH BALLOT BOX SURGE IN TRUMP TERRITORY
U.S. President Donald Trump waves to the media after walking off of Air Force One at Miami International Airport on April 11, 2026, in Miami, Fla.(Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
“I’m always going to do what’s right for this district first. And I’ve been clear: If the president’s going to do things that are good for the district, increasing the SALT cap deduction, putting money back in people’s pockets, especially New Jersey, affordability is so tough here. If we’re doing things like border security, reducing fentanyl deaths like we’ve seen in our community. Those are good things. I support those policies,” Hathaway said.
“But on the other hand, if the president’s going to do things that aren’t in the best interest of our district, it’s my job to push back, and that’s exactly what I’ve done,” he spotlighted.
Hathaway pointed to Trump’s move last year to terminate billions of federal dollars for the Gateway Project, which is funding a new train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York, and the president’s plans to cut roughly 1,000 jobs and nearly $1 billion in funding for an Army base located in New Jersey.
“I’m going to call balls and strikes in this race. I’m not going to be a rubber stamp for anybody,” Hathaway said.
He touted, “I think we have the right math, the right bipartisan coalition to come together to win this thing on April 16.”
Campaign signs for Republican candidate Joe Hathaway and Democrat Analilia Mejia in the NJ-11 special congressional election, in Randolph, New Jersey on April 13, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
But Dan Cassino, a Fairleigh Dickinson University political science professor and pollster, calls Hathaway’s hopes of capturing crossover Democrats “a pipe dream.”
“Democrats as a whole do not seem interested in finding common ground with Trump,” he said as he predicted that most voters in the special election will be strong partisans. “Democratic turnout is through the roof and Republican turnout is depressed at this point.”
Cassino noted that “right now, national politics drives everything. We say all politics is local. Today, unfortunately, all politics is national.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Mejia, meanwhile, has tied Hathaway to Trump and Republicans in Congress.
“MAGA Republicans are driving up everyday costs with extreme policies my opponent supports. Healthcare and critical programs are being gutted just to fund tax breaks for the ultra-rich. We can’t afford another vote for Trump in Congress,” she wrote in a social media post.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.