Anti-Israel activist leads former congressman, shunned by AIPAC, in NJ special primary

Analilia Mejia, a progressive activist backed by some of Israel’s fiercest critics in Congress, holds a narrow lead for the Democratic nomination for a vacant U.S. House seat in New Jersey against former congressman Tom Malinowski.

On Friday afternoon, Mejia had 18,058 votes (28.9%) and Malinowski 17,382 votes (27.8%) in the special primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

Given the district’s strong blue hue, the winner of the Democratic primary will be a strong favorite to win the April 16 special election against Joe Hathaway, a Republican, to succeed Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who resigned her congressional seat when she was elected New Jersey governor last November.

In the past, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has supported Malinowski, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state and two-term congressman, who led throughout the night until Mejia moved ahead and remained there with 93% of the vote counted as of Friday afternoon.

This time around, AIPAC’s United Democracy Project spent $2.3 million against the frontrunner, who has a history of defending the Jewish state, in negative ads, phone calls and mailings.

Mejia has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, promised not to take an AIPAC-funded trip to Israel and received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)

J Street endorsed Malinowski this time, and Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for the AIPAC super PAC, told JNS last month that there were “several candidates in this race that are far more supportive of the U.S.-Israel relationship than Tom Malinowski.”

Malinowski told JNS last month that he refused to commit to supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 100%.

“I’m in the mainstream of both the Democratic Party and of the Jewish community in strongly supporting Israel and its right to defend itself while being critical of some of the policies of the Netanyahu government,” Malinowski said at the time.

“If AIPAC’s definition of pro-Israel excludes someone like me, there will not be enough pro-Israel people left in America to support an alliance for Israel,” he told JNS last month.

The co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Adam Green, attributed Mejia’s success to her positions on issues.

“Analilia Mejia’s momentous showing proves that voters, when given a choice, want Democrats with an inspiring vision who will boldly challenge powerful interests on behalf of working families,” Green stated.

“This is the second big congressional primary in two weeks where voters chose the more progressive candidate and made clear they want Democrats who will shake up a broken political and economic system—not just be anti-Trump,” he said.

© JNS