Malinowski Concedes to Mejía in NJ Special House Primary

Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.) conceded the Democratic primary for a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives in New Jersey to Analilia Mejía, a progressive political activist, on Feb. 10.

Mejía led the field with 29.1 percent of the vote in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, which is northwest of the New York metropolitan area and includes the town of Parsippany.

Malinowski, who previously represented the 7th district until 2023, won 27.7 percent of the vote.

Mejía has not yet been declared the winner, but the race was effectively over after Malinowski publicly conceded.

Mejía acknowledged her victory with a GIF image posted on social media of the Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny at the 68th Grammy Awards.

She wrote on X that her campaign “will make an announcement” later from its headquarters in New Jersey.

The special election was called because the former representative, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, resigned on Nov. 20 shortly after winning the state’s gubernatorial election on Nov. 4. Sherrill took office as governor on Jan. 20.

“I look forward to supporting [Mejía] in the April general election,” Malinowski said in a statement posted to social media.

“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,” he added, blaming the American Israel Public Affairs Committee for his loss.

A pro-Israel group financially linked to AIPAC, the United Democracy Project, released a statement on Feb. 6 about the race, stating the result was an “anticipated possibility, and [its] focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress.”

Mejía is running on a platform of raising taxes on billionaires and corporations, supporting universal childcare policy, and building public transit infrastructure.

She previously worked in many political staff roles and is currently the co-director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a progressive political advocacy group, according to her LinkedIn.

Mejía also worked in the Biden administration as the deputy director of the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, and as the political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign.

She was endorsed by several high-profile progressive politicians for her run.

“Analilia Mejía for New Jersey is a fighter for working people—from immigrant rights and universal health care to higher wages and real accountability for the powerful,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Facebook in an endorsement message.

The congressional midterm election is on Nov. 3, meaning that the winner of the special election on April 6 will have to run again this year if they want to seek reelection to a full two-year term in the 120th Congress.

The primary for the general election will be in June.

Malinowski said that he would oppose any candidate who is supported by AIPAC in the June primary. He didn’t say whether he will run again.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Analilia Mejía’s percentage of the vote. The Epoch Times regrets the error.