WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in northern New Jersey will select nominees in a special congressional primary on Thursday to replace Democrat Mikie Sherrill in the U.S. House now that she’s governor.

The crowded, 11-candidate Democratic primary field features Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett, venture capitalist Zach Beecher, attorney and comedian J-L Cauvin, nonprofit executive Cammie Croft, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, Morris Township Committeeman Jeff Grayzel, former U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski, progressive organizer Analilia Mejia, Chatham Borough Councilman Justin Strickland, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way and community activist Anna Lee Williams. Two additional candidates have dropped out of the race, but their names will remain on the ballot.

The winner will face the only candidate in the Republican primary, Randolph Township Mayor Joe Hathaway, on April 16. The Democratic-leaning district could further narrow the 218-214 Republican majority in the U.S. House. Two previously Republican-held seats in Georgia and California are also vacant.

Malinowski entered the final stretch of the abbreviated campaign leading the field in fundraising. But he is also the target of a $1.6 million negative ad campaign by a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. That group targeted members of the progressive congressional group known as the Squad in 2024. Meanwhile, a super PAC affiliated with the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association has spent about $1.5 million on behalf of Way.

The eventual Democratic nominee will have an advantage heading into the April special general election. Sherrill won reelection in 2024 with about 57% of the vote, while Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris carried the district with 53% at the top of the ballot. Sherrill was elected governor in November and was sworn in last month.

More than half of the district’s 588 precincts are in Morris County, with about 39% in Essex County and 9% in Passaic County. Beecher, Grayzel, Strickland and Williams are from Morris County. Cauvin, Croft, Gill and Mejia are from Essex County, while Way hails from Passaic County. Malinowski lives outside of the 11th Congressional District but previously represented a portion of Essex County until his 2022 loss to GOP U.S. Rep. Tom Kean.

The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

New Jersey does not have automatic recounts, but candidates and voters may request and pay for them, with the cost refunded if the outcome changes. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Thursday:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot?

The AP will provide vote results and declare a winner in the Democratic special primary for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. The Republican primary is uncontested.

Who gets to vote?

Registered party members may vote only in their own party’s primary. In other words, Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in a party’s primary if they affiliate with that party at the polling place.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of Sunday, there were about 602,000 registered voters in the 11th Congressional District. Of those, about 226,000 were Democrats, about 165,000 were Republicans and about 206,000 were not affiliated with any party. The remainder were registered with various minor parties.

About 52,000 votes were cast the 11th Congressional District Democratic primary in 2024 and about 38,000 in 2022. Early and absentee voting comprised about 48% of the primary vote in 2024 and about 47% in 2022.

More than 25,000 ballots from registered Democrats and about 5,400 ballots from registered Republicans had already been cast as of Monday. An additional 29 ballots from unaffiliated voters had also been cast.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 11th District Democratic primary, the AP first reported results at 8:11 p.m. ET, or 11 minutes after polls closed. The tabulation ended for the night at 11:18 p.m. ET with about 90% of total votes counted.

When are early and absentee voting results released?

All counties in New Jersey release most or all the results from early and absentee voting in the first vote update of the night, before any in-person Election Day results are released.

Are we there yet?

As of Thursday, there will be 70 days until the special general election in the 11th Congressional District and 271 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Associated Press writer Leah Askarinam contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite rare negotiations between Democrats and President Donald Trump, a bipartisan agreement on new restrictions for federal immigration enforcement in the next two weeks will be exceedingly difficult — or even “an impossibility,” as Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

Congress is discussing potential new rules for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection after officers shot and killed two Minneapolis protesters in January. The negotiations come amid some bipartisan sentiment that Congress should step in to de-escalate tensions over the enforcement operations that have rocked Minnesota and other states.

President Donald Trump last week agreed to a Democratic request that funding for the Department of Homeland Security be separated from a larger spending bill and extended at current levels for two weeks while the two parties discuss possible requirements for the federal agents. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this weekend that he was at the White House when Trump spoke with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and that they were “on the path to get agreement.”

But it’s unclear if the president or enough congressional Republicans will agree to any of the Democrats’ larger demands that the officers unmask and identify themselves, obtain judicial warrants in certain cases and work with local authorities, among other asks. Republicans have already pushed back.

And House GOP lawmakers are demanding that some of their own priorities be added to the Homeland Security spending bill, including legislation that would require proof of citizenship before Americans register to vote. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and other Republican senators are pushing for restrictions on sanctuary cities that they say don’t do enough to crack down on illegal immigration. There’s no clear definition of sanctuary jurisdictions, but the term is generally applied to state and local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

It’s also uncertain if Democrats who are furious over the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement operations would be willing to compromise.

“We don’t need promises. We need law,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats would present Republicans with a “serious, detailed proposal” soon.

A look at Democrats’ demands and what Republicans are saying about them:

Agreement on body cameras

Republicans say they are open to officer-worn body cameras, a change that was already in the underlying Homeland Security spending bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backed that up on Monday when she ordered body-worn cameras to be issued to every Homeland Security officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from ICE. She said the policy would expand nationwide as funding becomes available.

The bill already directed $20 million to outfit immigration enforcement agents with body-worn cameras.

Gil Kerlikowske, who served as commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017, said that most agents are “very supportive” of cameras because they could help exonerate officers. But he added that complex questions remain, including when footage should be released and when cameras must be activated.

“When do you turn it on? And if you got into a problem and didn’t have it on, are you going to be disciplined? It’s really pretty complex,” he said.

Schumer said Tuesday that the body cameras “need to stay on.”

Disagreement on masking

As videos and photos of aggressive immigration tactics and high-profile shootings circulate nationwide, agents covering their faces with masks has become a flashpoint. Democrats argue that removing the masks would increase accountability. Republicans warn it could expose agents to harassment and threats.

“State law enforcement, local folks don’t do it,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Committee for Homeland Security. “I mean, what’s so special about an ICE law enforcement agency that they have to wear a mask?”

But Republicans appear unlikely to agree.

“Unlike your local law enforcement in your hometown, ICE agents are being doxed and targeted. We have evidence of that,” Johnson said on Tuesday. He added that if you “unmask them and you put all their identifying information on their uniform, they will obviously be targeted.”

Immigration officers are already required to identify themselves “as soon as it is practical and safe to do so,” according to federal regulations. ICE officials insist those rules are being followed.

Critics, however, question how closely officers adhere to the regulations.

“We just see routinely that that’s not happening,” said Nithya Nathan Pineau, a policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

Judicial vs. administrative warrants

Democrats have also demanded stricter use of judicial warrants and an end to roving patrols of agents who are targeting people in the streets and in their homes. Schumer said Tuesday that they want “arrest warrants and an end to racial profiling.”

Most immigration arrests are carried out under administrative warrants, internal documents issued by immigration authorities that authorize the arrest of a specific person but do not permit officers to forcibly enter private homes or other non-public spaces without consent. Traditionally, only warrants signed by judges carry that authority.

But an internal ICE memo obtained by The Associated Press last month authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections.

Democrats have not made clear how broadly they want judicial warrants used. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said that Democrats want to see “an end to the targeting of sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools and hospitals.”

Johnson said Tuesday that Democrats are trying to “add an entirely new layer” by seeking warrants signed by a judge rather than the administrative warrants that are signed by the department. “We can’t do that,” he said.

The speaker has said that an end to roving patrols is a potential area of agreement, but he did not give details.

Code of conduct and more accountability

Democrats have also called for a uniform code of conduct for all ICE and federal agents similar to that for state and local law enforcement officers.

Federal officials blocked state investigators from accessing evidence after protester Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, demanded that the state be allowed to take part, saying that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation excluding the state could be fair.

Hoping for a miracle

Any deal Democrats strike on the Department of Homeland Security is unlikely to satisfy everyone in the party. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts said she would never support an agreement that didn’t require unmasking.

“I ran for Congress in 2018 on abolish ICE,” Pressley said. “My position has not changed.”

Thune, of South Dakota, has repeatedly said it’s an “impossibility” to negotiate and pass something so complicated in two weeks. He said any talks should be between Democrats and Trump.

“I don’t think it’s very realistic,” Thune said Tuesday about finding quick agreement. “But there’s always miracles, right?”

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Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government agreed Wednesday to release documents casting light on the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, despite his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, as it tries to stem mounting anger over the revelations.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced the wrath of opposition lawmakers, and his own Labour Party backbenchers, after acknowledging that he had known at the time of the 2024 appointment about Mandelson’s friendship with the convicted sex offender.

Starmer said that he was unaware of the depth of the relationship, and that Mandelson had “lied repeatedly” about his ties to Epstein.

A trove of documents about Epstein released last week by the U.S. Justice Department has finished off Mandelson’s long political career — and left Starmer facing angry questions about his judgment in making him Britain’s envoy to the Trump administration, the country’s most important ambassadorial post.

Starmer’s judgment questioned

Starmer fired Mandelson, 72, in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein following the late financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor. Epstein died by suicide in a jail cell in 2019, while awaiting trial on U.S. federal charges accusing him of sexually abusing dozens of girls.

At a question-and-answer session in the House of Commons dominated by the Epstein revelations, Starmer said that Mandelson had “lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador.”

“Mandelson betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party,” Starmer said. “I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government.”

The opposition Conservative Party said that explanation wasn’t good enough, and moved to force a vote in Parliament calling for the release of emails and other documentation related to Mandelson’s appointment.

Starmer said that he would ensure that “all of the material” is published, except for documents that compromise Britain’s national security, international relations or the police investigation into Mandelson’s activities.

Opposition lawmakers — and some from Starmer’s Labour Party — said that they worried the government would use national security as an excuse to keep embarrassing documents secret.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the government should publish all relevant files, “not just the ones the prime minister wants us to see.”

“The prime minister is talking about national security. The national security issue was appointing Mandelson in the first place,” she said.

The government gave in to lawmakers’ anger and agreed that the Intelligence and Security Committee — made up of parliamentarians from several parties — would decide what papers should be published, rather than a senior civil servant as Starmer had proposed.

Police investigation

Documents released last week by the U.S. government suggest Mandelson may have shared sensitive information with Epstein when he was a government minister around 15 years ago.

In 2009, he appears to have told Epstein that he would lobby other members of the government to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses, and passed on an internal government report discussing a potential sale of U.K. government assets. The following year, he appears to have tipped off Epstein about the imminent bailout of the euro currency.

The newly released files also suggest that in 2003-2004, Epstein sent three payments totaling $75,000 to accounts linked to Mandelson or his partner Reinaldo Avila da Silva, now his husband.

Since those disclosures, Mandelson has resigned from the House of Lords and faces a police investigation for alleged misconduct in public office, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Opening an investigation doesn’t mean Mandelson will be arrested, charged or convicted.

London’s Metropolitan Police said that it had “immediately” reviewed documents sent to it by Starmer’s office and warned that the release of some of them could undermine its investigation.

“We therefore asked them not to release certain documents at this time,” Cmdr. Ella Marriott said.

Starmer said that the government was working on legislation to remove the noble title, Lord Mandelson, that the ex-ambassador still holds. He will also be removed from the Privy Council, a committee of senior officials that advises King Charles III, for bringing “the reputation of the Privy Council into disrepute,” Starmer said.

An email requesting comment on the documents was sent to Mandelson through the House of Lords.

The European Union is also investigating potential wrongdoing by Mandelson when he was the bloc’s trade commissioner between 2004 and 2008. The U.K. was an EU member until 2020.

“We will be assessing if, in light of these newly available documents, there might be a breaches of the respective rules with regard to Peter Mandelson,” European Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari said. “We have rules in place, emanating from the treaty and the code of conduct that commissioners, including former commissioners, have to follow.”

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Sam McNeil contributed to this report from Brussels.

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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the EU is investigating Mandelson, not Epstein.