Progressive organizer Annalia Mejia will replace Democratic Gov. Mickey Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, adding to the party’s winning streak that signals voters’ dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/16/new-jersey-special-house-election-trump-midterms-00874507","_Identification": :"0000019d-98e1-dd85-addf-dce577fa0004","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-98e1-dd85-addf-dce577fa0005","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Suggest voter dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump Before midterms.
According to the Associated Press, Mejia defeated Republican Randolph Township Council member Joe Hathaway in Thursday’s special election.
She entered the race as the favorite for the affluent, blue-leaning North Jersey seat after an unexpected victory in February’s Democratic primary — a race that included about a dozen candidates, including several who had spent more than Mejia and had more name ID.
In the primary, heavy outside spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee against former Representative Tom Malinowski partly helped Mejia win.","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/10/former-rep-malinski-ncedes-new-jersey-house-democratic-primary-to-progressive-mejia-00773421","_Identification": :"0000019d-98e1-dd85-addf-dce577fa0006","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-98e1-dd85-addf-dce577fa0007","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Drive Mejia to victory. But outside groups on both sides of the aisle largely stayed out of the special general election — money that otherwise could have made the race more competitive.
Republicans — who are looking to rebuild after a brutal loss in the state last year — tried to argue that Mejia was too far to the left of the district. Sherrill, a moderate Democrat, first flipped the seat in 2018 and easily won re-election in the years that followed; Former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024 by about 9 points. Like other races across the country, the GOP was eager to refer to Mejia as a “socialist” – a label with which she did not identify – and to compare her to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
But the message didn’t sink in among voters, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 60,000. Mejia also received support from Democrats of all persuasions in his general election campaign.
Still, Republicans were betting that Hathaway, who had positioned herself as a moderate Republican willing to push back against President Donald Trump, would benefit from her local connections for mayor and on the Randolph Township Council. Polls closed at 8 p.m. and the Associated Press declared the race for Mejia at 8:07 p.m. With about 30 percent of the votes counted, Mejia led Hathaway by more than 35 points.
Mejía has had a long career in progressive politics and organizing. This includes serving as co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a nationwide coalition of progressive groups, through 2022; senator bernie sanders‘ (I-VT) National Political Director during his 2020 presidential bid; and Executive Director of the New Jersey Working Families Party from 2014 to 2019.
His message focused on affordability and immigration as well as abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He presented his campaign as a “defeat” in the general election.MAGA extremist","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://x.com/AnaliliaForNJ/status/2031787612961227206","_Identification": :"0000019d-98e1-dd85-addf-dce577fa0008","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-98e1-dd85-addf-dce577fa0009","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>MAGA extremist”And has promoted national paid sick days, Medicare for All and taking on big corporations on his platform.
Mejia will be the first Latina to represent NJ-11 in Congress and the second to be elected to the New Jersey congressional delegation.
Mejia must run again in the June primary to compete for a full term starting in 2027. A handful of primary challengers have emerged against him, and Hathaway has indicated that he will make another attempt at a full term.
While it will be difficult to defeat an incumbent, AIPAC’s super PAC has left the door open for future spending in the race, with a spokesperson saying after the February primary election that its “focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress.” Mejia has been critical of Israel, including saying that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza – an issue that Hathaway tried to target at her during the campaign.
