Tom Malinowski Concedes to Analilia Mejia in Close New Jersey Democratic Primary

Former Rep. Tom Malinowski conceded on Tuesday to longtime activist Analilia Mejia in the Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, a tight race that has yet to be called five days after the election.

As of Tuesday, Mejia had 29.1% of the vote to Malinowski’s 27.7% in the crowded primary. Some outlets erroneously reported that Malinowski had won on Thursday, when the election took place, before reversing to say it was too close to call.

The result stunned the state’s Democratic establishment, which was split between multiple candidates. Trailing close behind Mejia and Malinowski were former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill.

Malinowski congratulated Mejia on her win in the district in a statement on Tuesday that also warned of the effects of money in the race.

“Analilia deserves unequivocal praise and credit for running a positive campaign and for inspiring so many voters on Election Day,” Malinowski said in a statement. “But 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.”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent millions against Malinowski in ads, despite Mejia being the most critical of Israel compared to other Democratic candidates in the primary.

Mejia ran an unabashedly progressive campaign and embraced social media to get her message out; she even contracted with the same firm that helped Zohran Mamdani build his online presence during his insurgent run for New York City mayor. She has also called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a position that has attracted support in some corners of the Democratic Party recently following a series of high-profile shootings carried out by federal immigration agents.

Though she has never held elected office, Mejia is no stranger to politics: She was Sen. Bernie Sanders’ national political director during his 2020 presidential campaign. Both Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed her bid to replace now-former Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who vacated the seat last month when she was sworn in as the state’s governor.

The expected result is a stinging defeat for Malinowski, who lost his reelection bid in 2022 to Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in the state’s 7th Congressional District.

Mejia is expected to face off against Joe Hathaway, the Republican former mayor of Randolph, New Jersey, in the April 16 general election.

If she wins the general election, she would fill one of the three vacant seats in the House and serve the remaining few months of Sherrill’s term. This would give Democrats 215 votes to Republicans’ 218 ahead of the full slate of midterm elections in November.