DENVILLE - Voters are more aware of what's going on in CD-11.

And that, says Joe Hathaway, is important.

"Way more people are paying attention now than they were in April," he said Thursday afternoon after early voting in township hall.

And to Hathaway, awareness of the race and of incumbent Rep. Analilia Mejia is important. In fact, he thinks it's key to him spinning an upset next Tuesday.

Throughout this campaign, Hathaway's message has been constant. And that is that Mejia is far too left wing, even radical, for a district that includes parts of Essex, Passaic and Morris counties.

He made the same point seven months ago.

But things were different then. That was a special election on April 16 - a Thursday no less.

Dems have a 65,000-plus registration advantage and that proved decisive last spring. Mejia won by 20 points.

After voting in the company of his wife and children, Hathaway suggested those results do not really matter anymore.

He noted that early vote numbers are very strong, which gives him hope.

"There's a lot more votes on the table. I think it's a lot more voters that are somewhere in the middle," he said.

Data suggests that Democrats are winning the early vote game, but that in itself does not negate Hathaway's point.

His argument is that there are Democrats who are seeing how "radical" Mejia is and "they're not happy about it."

Upbeat, as all candidates are when they vote, Hathway said the district and state are ready for a "new generation of Republican leaders."