In what would be an upset victory that may carry implications for Democrats nationwide, the progressive activist Analilia Mejia on Tuesday was on the verge of winning a special primary for a US House seat in New Jersey after her main challenger conceded defeat.
Former congressman Tom Malinowski issued a statement congratulating Mejia, a former adviser to Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and leader of New Jersey’s Working Families Alliance who has narrowly been in the lead since last Thursday’s election.
“I congratulate Analilia Mejia on her hard-won victory in the NJ-11 special primary. I look forward to supporting her in the April general election. It is essential that we send a Democrat to Washington to fill this seat, not a rubber stamp for Trump,” Malinowski said.
The outcome of the race in northern New Jersey’s 11th congressional district remains uncalled by the Associated Press. With about 93% of ballots counted, Mejia has an 889-vote lead over Malinowski, both of whom are well ahead of the 11 other candidates who received votes.
In a speech following Malinowski’s concession, Mejia said that the lesson from her campaign was that “people power can win”.
“This isn’t a race in which one individual won. This is a race in which community stepped up and said, in this moment, what we want are real representatives … who will listen to the people, who will ask questions about what is keeping you up at night, who will prioritize your interests over special interest,” Mejia said.
Mejia’s victory in a state where entrenched political interests often shape election outcomes may encourage other progressive candidates nationwide before the November midterm elections, when Democrats are looking to retake control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
The national political director of Sanders’s most recent presidential run, Mejia received his endorsement along with those of other prominent progressives including the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren.
Malinowski, who represented a neighboring district in Congress from 2019 to 2023 before losing re-election, received the endorsement of New Jersey’s Democratic senator Andy Kim, but was targeted by $2.3m in negative advertising paid for by a Super Pac tied to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac).
Aipac opposed Malinowski because he had spoken in support of putting conditions on US aid to Israel, and in his statement, the former congressman accused the group of creating the false impression he supported Donald Trump to undermine his campaign.
“The outcome of this race cannot be understood without also taking into account the massive flood of dark money that Aipac spent on dishonest ads during the last three weeks,” Malinowski wrote.
“I wish I could say today that this effort, which was meant to intimidate Democrats across the country, failed in NJ-11. But it did not. I met several voters in the final days of the campaign who had seen the ads and asked me, sincerely: ‘Are you Maga? Are you for ICE?’”
Mejia is set to face the Republican Joe Hathaway, who ran unopposed, in the 16 April special general election. The winner will replace Mikie Sherrill, who resigned her seat in Congress last year after winning election as New Jersey’s governor.
The 11th congressional district encompassing the suburbs of Newark is viewed as leaning towards Democrats. Kamala Harris won 53% of the votes there in the 2024 election, compared with Trump’s 45%.
