Republican seeks blue-state breakthrough, distances from Trump while taking aim at 'socialist'

Republican Joe Hathaway is running in a New Jersey congressional special election against Democrat Analilia Mejia, who is backed by progressive figures Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The race highlights ideological divides between Hathaway's 'common sense' approach and Mejia's left-leaning policies, with implications for the GOP's fragile House majority.