RANDOLPH - As candidates, there is a lot of space - philosophically - between Rep. Analilia Mejia and Joe Hathaway, her Republican opponent in CD-11.

But last Saturday morning, they were physically just a hundred feet or so away from each other. Credit a traditional slice of small-town America for that.

This was the 50th Annual Randolph Freedom Festival, which included Saturday's parade. And no elected official is going to miss a parade.

Mejia rode in the second car of the parade, right behind Jim Gannon, the Morris County sheriff, and Senate Republican Leader Anthony Bucco, whose 25th District includes Randolph.

Hathaway, who is a township councilman, was a few cars down the line. But he kind of got two bites of the apple. Besides riding in a car, supporters marched with a Hathaway for Congress banner.

The two candidates did not interact, at least during the parade's shape up period.

Their closeness was interesting when you consider how this campaign is unfolding.

It's almost as if the candidates are appealing to different constituencies.

That’s no accident.

Mejia won the Democratic primary in February by stressing her willingness to fight Donald Trump.

It worked. No need to change now.

That is why in the last few days, Mejia has condemned Trump for potential election meddling and expressed support for Birthright Citizenship as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

She posted the following:

“Will you sign my petition to defend the 14th Amendment and demand that Congress protect the constitutional rights of every person?”

How about Hathaway?

He’s taking a different approach and it’s no accident.

Most recently, he criticized Mejia’s “limited public response following the severe storms that left thousands of North Jersey residents without power for days during dangerous heat." The GOP candidate claimed Mejia offered a single media post and then moved on to national issues - like advocating the impeachment of Supreme Court justices.

Expect this pattern to continue.

Hathaway’s point is that a congressional rep’s job is to respond to community needs.

Mejia’s focus is different- it’s playing defense- essentially- against Donald Trump.

This can make for interesting discussion, but you have to wonder how much of a contest this really is.

Mejia won “round one,” or the special election, by 20 points. Clearly in this climate, it pays to criticize Trump.

But you can also see Hathaway’s point - you have to do more than that.