Sherrill Beats Becchi, AP Says: NJ 11th Congressional Election – Mendham, NJ Patch

This post was last updated at 11:48 p.m.

Current tallies:

  • Mikie Sherrill: 134,776
  • Rosemary Becchi: 93,878

The candidates differed on many issues, with few similarities. Here is Patch’s cheat sheet on their platforms:

Pandemic Problems

  • Becchi: The tax attorney said she doesn’t want to keep families on lockdown, noting that she wants to find ways to open up safely.
  • Sherrill: The former federal prosecutor and Navy helicopter pilot said a move back to normalcy can’t happen until the global health crisis is under control.
  • Common Ground: Both candidates agreed that following the health guidelines from the Center for Disease Control was important.

Partisan Pot Shots

  • Becchi: Multiple times throughout the campaign Becchi invoked the name of Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She said, like Pelosi, Sherrill wants to take away guns from citizens and defund the police.
  • Sherrill: Sherrill said that the pandemic not being under control is due to a failure of President Donald Trump. She also said his chaotic foreign policy has damaged our relationship with allies.
  • Common Ground: Congress needs more female voices.

Reproductive Rights

  • Becchi: The challenger confirmed she was pro-life.
  • Sherrill: The incumbent said she was pro-choice and believes Planned Parenthood needs to be fully funded.
  • Common Ground: None.

Police Position

  • Becchi: The challenger said that her opponent seeks to defund the police and end qualified immunity for police officers.
  • Sherrill: The representative said she does not support defunding the police, but that ending qualified immunity would help identify and hold problem officers accountable.
  • Common Ground: Both agree there are “bad apples” that need to be addressed.

Record Roundup

  • Becchi: According to Becchi, Sherrill exhibits a very partisan approach and went back on her campaign promise to walk a moderate path. Becchi has repeatedly tried to tie Sherrill to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi across social media through voting record.
  • Sherrill: The Congresswoman noted that her opponent lobbied in favor the 2017 tax bill that capped the State and Local Property Tax (SALT) deduction at $10,000 which hurt New Jersey families and also helped Exxon Mobile work around environmental regulations. Sherrill also tied Becchi to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who Sherrill said Becchi has donated campaign money to.
  • Common Ground: None.

Affordable Care Act

  • Sherrill has said that Becchi has no plan for healthcare if President Donald Trump successfully “sabotages” the ACA, or Obamacare.
  • Becchi has said that Sherrill wants a government-run system that will destroy the healthcare system provided by employers.
  • Common Ground: Both claim to support preserving coverage for preexisting conditions.

New Jersey’s 11th District had been a Republican stronghold for many years before Sherrill’s victory in 2018, with Rodney Frelinghuysen, the former chair of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, occupying the seat for decades.

The district includes the following municipalities:

  • Morris County – Boonton Town, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Denville, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown Town, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township and Victory Gardens
  • Essex County – Bloomfield (split with 10th), Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Montclair (split with 10th), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell, West Orange (split with 10th)
  • Passaic County – Bloomingdale, Little Falls, North Haledon, Pompton Lakes, Totowa, Wanaque, Wayne and Woodland Park
  • Sussex County – Byram, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta and Stanhope

Since the change to this year’s election was announced by Gov. Phil Murphy because of the coronavirus, there have been many questions about how the process will work.

Every the ballot sent through the mail had to be postmarked by Nov. 3. It must be received by your county’s election boards by 8 p.m. on Nov. 10.

“Every vote should be safe. Every vote should be secure. Every vote should be counted,” Murphy said of the process.

All election results are unofficial until they are certified. It is estimated the results for this election cycle may not be certified until Nov. 20.