With just eight days left to go until the February 5 special Democratic primary for the 11th congressional district, two of the race’s frontrunners, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill (D-Montclair) and former Rep. Tom Malinowski, are continuing to pick up new supporters.
This morning, Gill got an endorsement from former Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Englewood), who spent nearly two decades representing a Bergen County-based district in Congress.
“Brendan Gill represents the kind of leadership our district needs right now,” Rothman said in a statement. “He understands our communities and he understands how Congress must deliver for the constituents who make up those communities. Throughout his career, Brendan has shown a real commitment to public service and to standing up for working families.”
Gill previously got endorsements from the families of two late congressmen, Reps. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) and Donald Payne Jr. (D-Newark), who died in 2024. None of the state’s current House members have made an endorsement in the race, nor has Gov. Mikie Sherrill (who held the 11th district before her election to the governor’s office), but Senator Andy Kim is supporting Malinowski.
On a local level, Gill also picked up endorsements from a commissioner in the town of Nutley, Alphonse Petracco. Gill has the official backing of the Essex County Democratic organization and launched his campaign with day-one endorsements from a huge number of Essex Democrats, among them Petracco’s fellow Nutley commissioner, Thomas Evans.
Malinowski, meanwhile, now has the support of Chatham Borough Mayor Carolyn Dempsey and Councilwomen Jocelyn Mathiasen and Karen Koronkiecz. The former congressman won the broader Morris County Democratic organization’s endorsement last month, but his new endorsements are a blow to Justin Strickland, a Chatham councilman whose 11th district campaign has now been snubbed by three of his own colleagues.
