Maplewood Committeeman Dean Dafis has withdrawn from the special election for New Jersey’s 11th congressional district, bringing the number of Democrats competing to succeed Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill down to 11.
Dafis, a former mayor of his deeply progressive hometown, will still appear on February 5 primary ballots, many of which have already gone out to vote-by-mail voters.
In a statement announcing the suspension of his campaign, Dafis did not cite any specific reason for his decision, saying only that “the fight doesn’t end with one outcome.”
“I am very encouraged by the people I met all over the district with whom our message resonated – a public option for health care, investing in a mass transit system that works, funding our top-ranked public schools, and affordable housing that doesn’t rely exclusively on lining the pockets of private developers,” Dafis said. “Progress is incremental, and over time we will ensure that all working families have a more secure safety net.”
Dafis launched his campaign for the suburban North Jersey district shortly after Sherrill won the governorship, highlighting his progressive record in Maplewood and his potential to become New Jersey’s first LGBT member of Congress.
But there were signs that Dafis wasn’t catching on against a crowded field of opponents, many of whom are better-known quantities in state and local politics. Dafis ran as a reformer interested in upending the political machine – but so did many of his opponents, two of whom, former Rep. Tom Malinowski and former Bernie Sanders political director Analilia Mejia, started picking up support from progressive luminaries like Senators Andy Kim and Bernie Sanders.
Perhaps the biggest blow came when South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum endorsed Malinowski; South Orange and Maplewood often vote together as a powerful progressive bloc, but Collum’s endorsement hobbled any effort Dafis might have made to get a huge victory out of her town.
Another impediment may have been fundraising – a difficult task for any politician, especially during such a truncated campaign schedule. Dafis never publicly released any of his fundraising totals, but many of his opponents have said they’ve raised hundreds of thousands of dollars (and Malinowski has surpassed $1 million).
Dafis’s exit could make it easier for other reform-minded candidates to establish a foothold in Maplewood, which made up close to one-tenth of the 11th district’s Democratic primary vote in 2024. He did not immediately respond to a message asking whether he plans to make an endorsement in the race.
Dafis is the second 11th district candidate to withdraw after filing for the special election had already concluded. Former congressional staffer Marc Chaaban got out of the race and endorsed Mejia in early December – and even that wasn’t early enough for him to avoid being placed on the ballot anyways.
