New Jersey Progressive Mejia Scores Upset Democratic Primary Win

Progressive political activist Analilia Mejia won a stunning upset in a special Democratic primary in northern New Jersey, where an outside spending campaign by a pro-Israel group appeared to backfire.

Mejia, who was a top official on Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, had 29% of the vote in New Jersey’s 11th District compared with 28% for ex-Rep. Tom Malinowski in nearly complete returns from the Feb. 5 primary.

Malinowski conceded to Mejia Tuesday, five days after an election that had been too close to call.

“I congratulate Analilia Mejia on her hard won victory in the NJ-11 special primary,” Malinowski said in a statement. “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.”

Democrats have the edge in the April 16 special election to complete the unexpired term of Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), who resigned last November after winning her campaign for governor. Republican nominee Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph in Morris County, was unopposed in his primary.

Mejia called for abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Her backers included Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the progressive Working Families Party, and the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, which represents a large bloc of liberal Democrats.

“I am going to be fighting to unrig our economy and to protect our democracy,” Mejia said at a candidate forum. “The biggest problem we have is the outsized power of money in our democracy.”

Mejia trailed Malinowski after early votes and many mail-in ballots were tallied shortly after the polls closed, leading some analysts including Decision Desk HQ to declare Malinowski the winner. The Democratic National Committee released a statement congratulating Malinowski. DDHQ retracted its call as Mejia erased Malinowski’s lead on the strength of a dominant showing among voters who cast ballots on primary day.

Malinowski promoted his House service and said he was the first swing-district Democrat to call for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. He led the Democratic field in fundraising, with a donor list that included former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).

Outside Spending

The primary was punctuated by more than $2.3 million in spending against Malinowski by the United Democracy Project super-PAC funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which attacked him for a 2019 vote for a bipartisan border funding measure that included funding for ICE. Malinowski has been an ally of Israel but doesn’t support unconditional aid for the nation.

UDP didn’t endorse a candidate and its campaign may have boomeranged because Mejia publicly said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

UDP, which began 2026 with $96 million in cash-on-hand, said it could intervene in the June primary for a full two-year term.

“The outcome in NJ-11 was an anticipated possibility, and our focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress,” UDP said in a statement. “UDP will be closely monitoring dozens of primary races, including the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress.”

Malinowski said he would campaign against any AIPAC-backed candidate in the June primary.

“My convictions — including my support for Israel as a democratic and Jewish state — don’t change because of who supports or opposes me,” Malinowski said. “But our Democratic Party should have nothing to do with a pro-Trump-billionaire-funded organization that demands absolute fealty to positions that are outside the mainstream of the American pro-Israel community, and then smears those who don’t fall into line.”

Eleven Democrats campaigned for the party nomination in the 11th District, a Democratic-leaning swath of well-educated and upper-income suburbs in parts of Morris, Essex, and Passaic Counties. Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way finished third with 17%, followed by Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill with 14%.

New Jersey’s 11th District accounts for one of three vacancies in the House, where Republicans currently have a 218-214 majority. There are two vacant GOP seats, one in northwestern Georgia and one in northern California.