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<\/u>","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<\/u> Before midterms.<\/p>\n
According to the Associated Press, Mejia defeated Republican Randolph Township Council member Joe Hathaway in Thursday’s special election. <\/p>\n
She entered the race as the favorite for the affluent, blue-leaning North Jersey seat after an unexpected victory in February’s Democratic primary \u2014 a race that included about a dozen candidates, including several who had spent more than Mejia and had more name ID.<\/p>\n
In the primary, heavy outside spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee against former Representative Tom Malinowski partly helped Mejia win.<\/u>","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<\/u>. But outside groups on both sides of the aisle largely stayed out of the special general election \u2014 money that otherwise could have made the race more competitive.<\/p>\n
Republicans \u2014 who are looking to rebuild after a brutal loss in the state last year \u2014 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” \u2013 a label with which she did not identify \u2013 and to compare her to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Mej\u00eda 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<\/a>‘ (I-VT) National Political Director during his 2020 presidential bid; and Executive Director of the New Jersey Working Families Party from 2014 to 2019.<\/p>\n