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Northeast
Dem free-for-all engulfs NJ as 13 contenders scramble for Sherrill’s House seat ahead of critical 2026 fight
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Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s win in New Jersey’s gubernatorial race has triggered a crowded special election to fill her U.S. House seat, with 13 Democrats contending for the nomination to face the lone Republican candidate in the race.
The staggering 13-candidate Democratic field in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District could set the tone for Democrats’ messaging priorities as the country heads into a midterm election year that could determine if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate in 2026 amid President Donald Trump’s second-term.
Monday marked the filing deadline for candidates vying to replace Sherrill, where candidates were required to secure at least 500 signatures to make the special election ballot.
Outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., issued the writ of election on Friday, Nov. 21, after Sherrill formally resigned from office on Thursday, Nov. 20. The special primary election is set for Feb. 5, 2026, and the special general election will be held on April 16, 2026.
FORMER OBAMA STAFFER, EX-CONGRESSMAN AMONG CANDIDATES IN CROWDED DEMOCRAT PRIMARY FOR MIKIE SHERRILL’S SEAT
Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill delivers remarks at her election night watch party on Nov. 4, 2025, in East Brunswick, New Jersey. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
The election comes as Democrats secured gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia and passed Proposition 50 in California this year, allowing the state to move forward with a new congressional map that is expected to add up to five Democratic-leaning districts.
FORMER HOUSE DEMOCRAT TARGETS TRUMP IN BID FOR POLITICAL COMEBACK
Murphy has already endorsed Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, touting his commitment to affordability and protecting “freedoms” in the fight against Trump. As the Essex County commissioner-at-large, Gill represents 22 towns in Essex County, and according to his campaign website, is committed to “taking on tough fights and delivering results that make our communities stronger, safer, and fairer.”
While Gill has secured a coveted endorsement from the outgoing governor, Democratic voters in New Jersey’s 11th will have 12 more candidates to choose from in February.
Progressive star Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has also thrown his hat in the ring to endorse the national political director of his 2020 presidential campaign, Analilia Mejia.
Analilia Mejia, co-executive director of Center for Popular Democracy, speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol on April 19, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“As oligarchs and corporate interests continue to capture our government, we need true progressives to take our country back for working people. Analilia’s experience and deep dedication to working families make her the best choice for this seat. I’m proud to endorse her,” Sanders said last month.
Mejia served in the Department of Labor under President Joe Biden and is currently the co-executive director of Popular Democracy, a progressive grassroots advocacy group demanding “transformational change for Black, brown, and low-income communities.”
Another high-profile candidate with his own high-profile endorsement, former Rep. Tom Malinowski is running to return to Congress after losing his re-election for New Jersey’s 7th District in 2022.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., has endorsed Malinowski, touting his experience fighting the Trump administration. Malinowski served as President Barack Obama’s assistant secretary of state for democracy and human rights and was a senior director on President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council.
Rep. Tom Malinowski participated in a rally on the House steps of the U.S. Capitol on May 13, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Outgoing Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way is also in the running for New Jersey’s 11th. The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association has endorsed Way, spotlighting her commitment to “expanding opportunity and delivering results.”
Way has also served as New Jersey’s secretary of state and was the first Black person and first secretary of New Jersey to lead the National Association of Secretaries of State as president.
SHERRILL PULLS OUT ALL STOPS WITH OBAMA ENDORSEMENT, STAR-STUDDED NEW JERSEY CAMPAIGN PUSH AS RACE TIGHTENS
Meanwhile, Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland, a U.S. Army veteran, Bronze Star recipient and former Pentagon official, is also competing for the Democratic nomination.
Strickland has centered his campaign on affordability — the winning issue in the past two election cycles.
“Our campaign revolves around one simple principle: ensuring everybody has the economic liberty to fulfill the American Dream,” Strickland said on his campaign website.
Another Democratic candidate, Anna Lee Williams, is an activist who, according to her campaign website, has spent the past decade in the “nonprofit and private sectors bringing people together around causes that matter to them.”
Gov. Phil Murphy gives a speech on the Hudson River tunnel project at the West Side Yard on Jan. 31, 2023, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Democratic candidate Jeff Grayzel is a local leader who currently serves as a committeeman for Morris Township, as chairman of the police commission and on the Board of Health.
He is the former mayor of Morris Township who is “committed to solving everyday problems facing residents, such as keeping taxes stable, controlling over-development, improving our infrastructure, and addressing our deteriorating environment,” according to his campaign website.
U.S. veteran and former Army paratrooper Zach Beecher said he is “running for Congress because Donald Trump and a failed Congress are putting our people and our country at risk,” citing rising costs, healthcare and leadership on the world stage.
Per his campaign website, Beecher is currently a major in the U.S. Army Reserves, and his congressional run marks his political debut.
Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, who is also competing for the Democratic nomination, said he is running because New Jersey deserves “another fighter who’s ready on day one, with a record of results and a focus on what really matters to us here” and “because it’s clear that Washington needs leaders who believe in the idea of public service and are willing to put country over party.”
Another Democratic candidate, Cammie Croft, helped the Obama administration pass the Affordable Care Act, touting her commitment to “advancing humane, bipartisan immigration reforms, to building a clean energy nonprofit that helps families lower their energy bills.”
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey votes on Election Day, in Montclair, New Jersey, on Nov. 4, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Her priorities in Congress are “lowering costs for families, ending corruption, and building a stronger, fairer economy that works for everyone,” according to Croft’s campaign website.
Marc Chaaban, a former congressional staffer for Sherrill, is seeking to replace his former boss in the office he once served.
Reflecting the sentiment of his fellow Gen Z activists and politicos, the 25-year-old said “too many Democrats in Washington are asleep at the wheel” and the moment “demands a different kind of politics.”
His commitments include rejecting Trump’s agenda, banning members of Congress from stock trading, prohibiting corporate PAC money in elections and investigating the “Trump-Epstein cover-up.”
Dean Dafis, a Maplewood township committeeman and the former mayor of Maplewood, said he is committed to making New Jersey’s 11th a more affordable place to live for working-class families. Per his campaign website, he is a civil rights advocate and the first openly LGBTQ representative on the Maplewood Township Committee.
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Finally, J.L. Cauvin is a community advocate, lawyer and comedian competing for the Democratic nomination. He is running on protecting seniors, making housing more affordable, leading on artificial intelligence, protecting democracy, banning stock trading and applying term limits in Congress.
The lone Republican candidate is Joe Hathaway, who is currently the mayor of Randolph Township and began his political career as an aide to Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J.
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Boston, MA
Clover plans to reopen some locations after sudden closure, thanks to an anonymous investor
Local News
The vegetarian restaurant chain, founded in 2008 at MIT, will reopen its Cambridge and Boston locations Tuesday, June 9.
Just days after announcing it would shut down for good, Clover Food Lab now says it has found a path forward to reopen some restaurants.
The vegetarian restaurant chain will reopen its Cambridge and Boston locations for lunch service on Tuesday, June 9, after securing a deal with an investor, CEO Julia Wrin Piper told Boston.com.
Clover announced May 26 it would close all 11 of its restaurants and its meal-box delivery operations, citing inflation, thin margins, and limited ability to raise prices.
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A dream, a bankruptcy, and a fateful email: Inside the collapse of Clover
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Clover says it’s closing for good
Wrin Piper said the company is focusing on Boston and Cambridge as it reopens some locations. Before last week, the chain also had restaurants in Sudbury, Burlington, Westford, and Somerville.
“We are intentionally focusing on shrinking our footprint to focus on our core communities,” Wrin Piper said. “The operational plan is still being worked out.”
Since March, the company had been searching for a buyer but was unable to find one. However, late last week, Clover finalized an investment deal that will allow the company to continue operating, Wrin Piper said.
Wrin Piper declined to identify the investor or disclose further details about the deal. In an email announcing the reopening, Clover described the investor as “mission-aligned” with the brand and motivated by the “differentiation of [Clover’s] locally-sourced menu.”
“Now, we’re in a position where we’re resourced enough that we’ll be able to move forward with some of the operational changes that will be essential for long-term financial sustainability, specifically reduced footprint, really focusing on serving truly the local community,” Wrin Piper said.
The reopening also comes after an “outpouring of love” from customers following the closure announcement, Wrin Piper noted.
Clover locations saw an increase in traffic, and sales surged as supporters flocked to restaurants in their final days, the company said in the email.
The company also received messages from customers sharing memories and expressing appreciation for the brand. In notes shared with Boston.com, customers described Clover as “irreplaceable” and a “unique Boston institution.” Others reflected on years of meals and experiences tied to the restaurant.
“My memories are mostly about the vibe — welcoming, delicious, passionate, sustainable, and community oriented,” one note reads. “Clover staff were always friendly and helpful. I estimate I had at least 2,000 Clover sandwiches over the 17 years. I tried them all and had my favorites.”
Wrin Piper said the response was deeply touching.
“It’s meaningful to see a customer really enjoy a sandwich or really connect with a story that we’re telling about a local farm,” she said. “It’s exciting if you see one customer doing it. If you see literally 1,000 customers do it over the course of a day, it’s incredibly meaningful.”
Founded as a food truck outside MIT in 2008, Clover built its reputation on vegetarian meals made with ingredients sourced from local farms. What began as a single truck eventually expanded into a regional fast-casual chain and meal-box delivery service.
Clover went public with its financial issues when it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2023, citing rising costs, slow sales, and difficulty raising capital. The restaurant emerged from bankruptcy the following year with two fewer restaurants and 240 employees.
Inflation was one of the factors behind the company’s recent closure announcement, and Wrin Piper acknowledged those pressures have not disappeared.
However, she said Clover’s restructuring efforts are designed to better position the company for long-term stability.
“Our restaurant portfolio, as a whole, was profitable,” she said. “But because we were challenged with some of these pressures, it’s very important in this next iteration to really focus on the core stores that are not only profitable but also very economically service as a tight community around Boston and Cambridge.”
While the company’s long-term operating plan is still being finalized, it will include reducing its store count and scaling back on infrastructure built for expansion.
Clover currently operates a large commissary in East Cambridge, where ingredients from local farmers are processed and prepared for restaurants throughout the system. Wrin Piper said that model was designed to support “scaled growth” and is no longer what the company needs.
“Right now, it’s important that we’re focused on a reduced store portfolio,” she said. “We’ll be closing or downsizing our commissary, because it’s simply too big for our needs.”
The chain also faces growing competition from other healthy lifestyle chains that have popped up in the region, such as Life Alive, CAVA, and Sweetgreen. Still, Wrin Piper said she believes Clover’s distinct identity and local sourcing will continue to set it apart.
“I think providing super fresh, exciting food with really warm and inviting customer service is the way that we’re going to continue to raise sales,” she said.
Wrin Piper noted that many customers choose Clover for its sourcing that “stays 100 percent the same” despite the operational challenges the company faces, adding that reinvesting in the local agriculture economy has been core to Clover’s mission.
“[Sourcing is] never something we’ve compromised on,” Wrin Piper said. “We will keep our commitment to sourcing from local farms in New England that you can drive to within a few hours.”
Pittsburgh Regional Transit has started to install its ReadyFare vending machines as the agency prepares to roll out its new fare payment system.
PRT said it’s working to roll out its new ReadyFare system and has started to install the new machine at some of its light-rail stations.
The new machines recently were installed at PRT’s Gateway station in Downtown Pittsburgh.
PRT said that as it prepares to roll out the new system, current ConnectCard holders will receive a card in the mail with instructions on how to request a ReadyFare card.
The new ReadyFare cards will be able to be purchased at the new machines for $1.
PRT said that riders will be able to transfer any balances they have on a ConnectCard to the new ReadyFare cards using an online balance transfer form.
Multiple people were taken to the hospital following a crash on Interstate 91 in Hartford, officials said.
The Hartford Fire Department was called to the crash just before 6 p.m. The crash involved six to eight vehicles, according to officials, and happened on the southbound side near exit 33.
Multiple ambulances were also called to the scene, including one advanced life support unit.
Fire officials said all patients were helped at the scene before being taken to the hospital. It’s unknown at this time how many were injured and the severity of their injuries.
The Connecticut State Police assisted with traffic control and will investigate the crash.
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