Progressive backed by Sanders, AOC pulls off upset ballot box shocker in Democratic congressional primary

A progressive candidate backed by champions of the left, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., pulled off a major upset victory over the more mainstream frontrunner in a Democratic congressional primary for a blue-leaning seat in New Jersey.

Analilia Mejia, a progressive organizer, edged out former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski in the battle for their party's nomination in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District.

On Tuesday, Malinowski announced on X that he had conceded the race.

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Mejia and Malinowski were the leaders among a field of 11 Democratic candidates in last Thursday's primary to fill the seat left vacant when now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill stepped down after winning November's gubernatorial election in the Garden State. 

The results in the primary showdown were closely watched by the political world as an early testing ground in the debate between progressives versus the more mainstream elements of the Democratic Party.

The victory by Mejia, who worked as national political director on Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign, is the latest boost for the left against the establishment since now-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, sent shock waves across the nation with his Democratic primary victory in June 2025.

"She stands for a progressive populist economic agenda," progressive leader Rep. Ro Khanna of California, emphasized last week in a social media post. "She is the future!" 

Mejia, speaking to supporters on primary night, highlighted that "we have to rebuild our party, we have to rebuild what is happening in our nation. We have to reclaim our democracy. We know that our economy is rigged to suit the billionaires."

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Malinowski, an assistant secretary of state in former President Barack Obama's administration who later represented a neighboring congressional district in northern New Jersey from 2018 to 2022 before losing re-election, was considered the favorite in the race heading into primary day.

But Malinowski was the target of a slew of attack ads put out by a group affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which opposed Malinowski because he said he supports conditions on aid to Israel.

The AIPAC-aligned super PAC United Democracy Project dished out more than $2.3 million to take aim at Malinowski, even though AIPAC had supported him in his past congressional elections.

But the strategy backfired, because Mejia is much tougher on Israel than Malinowski.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) jumped the gun on primary night, congratulating Malinowski in an email release.

"Tonight, Democrat Tom Malinowski clinched victory in the New Jersey District 11 special election Democratic primary," the DNC's release read.

Later in the evening, after taking a slight lead in the vote count over Malinowski, Meija put out a social media post showing the famous photo of President Harry Truman, during his 1948 election victory, holding up a newspaper with the erroneous banner headline: "Dewey Defeats Truman."

Mejia was boosted by the support on the left. Sanders headlined a virtual rally for her on the eve of the primary.

And besides Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, Mejia also was endorsed by a large list of other progressive leaders, including Khanna, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Pramilla Jayapal of Washington state, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

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The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a leading group on the left, said in a statement, "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."

PCCC co-founder Adam Green, a New Jersey native who knocked doors for Mejia and spoke at a rally with her and Sanders on primary eve, added that voters "made clear they want Democrats who will shake up a broken political and economic system – not just be anti-Trump."

While Mejia was the clear choice of the left flank of the party's base, the rest of the field appeared to divide the more moderate and center-left vote.

Mejia will face off with Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, the only Republican to file for the special election, which will be held on April 16.

Hathaway will be considered the underdog in the race, in the suburban northern New Jersey district.

Sherrill won re-election for the seat in 2024 by 15 points, the same margin by which she carried the district in November's gubernatorial showdown.

But then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by just eight points in the 2024 presidential election, giving the GOP some hopes of possibly flipping the seat.

"Radical Democrat Analilia Mejia wants to defund the police, raise your taxes, and turn New Jersey into a socialist hellscape. Republican Joe Hathaway is committed to making New Jersey safer and more affordable for working families," National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The primary in New Jersey was held as Republicans cling to a razor-thin 218-214 majority in the House of Representatives.

But the GOP may land a reinforcement in the House before the open seat in New Jersey is filled.

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That's because a special election is scheduled on March 10 in Georgia's solidly red 14th Congressional District, in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The MAGA firebrand and one-time top Trump House ally in early January stepped away from Congress a year before her term ended.

A whopping 22 candidates, including 17 Republicans, are running in the Georgia showdown.

According to Georgia state law, all the candidates will run on the same ballot. If no contender tops 50% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two finishers will take place on April 7.

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Trump last week endorsed Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clay Fuller, a Republican, in the race.

Greene won re-election in 2024 to the seat by nearly 30 points, and Trump carried the district, which is located in northwest Georgia, by 37 points.

There's one more vacant seat in Congress, in California's 1st Congressional District, following the recent unexpected death of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

A primary in the race to fill LaMalfa's seat will be held on June 2, which is primary day in California. And the special general election will be held on Aug. 4.

The district, in northeastern California, is solidly Republican.