When Democrat Mikie Sherrill became New Jersey’s first Democratic woman to be elected governor, she vacated her congressional seat representing a politically competitive, suburban district in the northern part of the state. As a result, a special primary election was held on Feb. 5 for Democrats to choose a candidate to fill out the remainder of her two-year term in office.
Former Congressman Tom Malinowski, a moderate Democrat, was the heavy favorite going into the primary election. He enjoyed high name recognition and had millions of dollars at his disposal, along with endorsements from many of the state’s top Democratic leaders.
Progressive Democrats, however, were united in support of Analilia Mejia, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. An activist from Glen Ridge, N.J., Mejia was national political director for Sanders’ 2020 presidential bid and is also the former executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance.
Mejia took aim at corporate greed and authoritarianism. Growing up as the daughter of immigrants who fled political and economic violence, Mejia relied on free health clinics and food pantries and sometimes went without meals, she said. She hears similar stories of economic struggle from her neighbors now, she added.
“This world doesn’t feel built to represent, to allow us all to thrive,” she said. “This world, our economy, our democracy, seems captured by big money, by oligarchs, by people who care more about adding another zero to their offshore bank account or trading in stocks when they shouldn’t be.”
As results started to come in on the evening of Feb. 5, it appeared Malinowski would win easily, and several media outlets called the race in his favor. However, later in the evening, a political shockwave rolled in as the gap between Malinowski and Mejia began to close significantly.
When it became apparent that Mejia might pull off one of the biggest upsets in the history of New Jersey politics after taking a narrow lead over Malinowski, the same media outlets that called the race retracted their decisions. As a result, the race became too close to, and it became necessary to postpone a decision until all ballots, including absentee, provisional, and military, were finally counted.
After several days of tallying paper ballots, Mejia increased her lead. A huge chunk of the remaining ballots came from working-class districts where Mejia had performed well. A short time later, Malinowski conceded the race.
Mejia’s stunning victory against a former representative with millions of dollars from wealthy donors and political action committees, as well as endorsements from established Democratic and union leaders, may have been the biggest political upset in a Democratic primary for Congress since Ocasio-Cortez defeated her incumbent opponent.
However, there were other factors working against the incumbent congressman. Dark money groups and political action committees associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee targeted Malinowski because of his criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Although Malinowski had a strong pro-Israel voting record, it seems that wasn’t enough to keep him out of hot water.
The United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, spent millions of dollars on negative ads against Malinowski. However, instead of attacking him for his criticisms of the Netanyahu regime, the ad spots focused on Malinowski’s vote to fund ICE.
Among other things, the ads highlighted a “yes” vote on a 2019 Democratic appropriations bill that funded humanitarian assistance and border security in response to migrants at the nation’s southern border. All but four House Democrats voted for the bill, and all but three Republicans voted against it. The ads said Malinowski “voted with Trump and the Republicans to fund ICE.”
In a district where many if not most Democrats and progressive independent voters are just as angry about U.S. support for Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians as they are about ICE policies and tactics, attacking Malinowski for his border vote likely motivated some voters to cast ballots against him. Broadcasting hit pieces complaining about his criticisms of Netanyahu, by contrast, probably wouldn’t have garnered much support.
Ironically, however, by targeting Malinowski because he dared to criticize Israel’s leader, AIPAC helped to elect a candidate who not only opposed U.S. funding for Israel but publicly used the “G word” for genocide to describe Israel’s campaign against Palestinians. At the same time, moderate Democrats who consistently support funding for Israel’s war machine are furious at AIPAC for attacking one of their own simply for criticizing Netanyahu.
As he conceded the primary election and pledged to support Mejia, Malinowski warned against the influence of outside money in the race. Filings with the Federal Election Commission show the former congressman saw more than $2.3 million in independent expenditures against him from the United Democracy Project.
“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,” Malinowski said. “I wish I could say today that this effort, which was meant to intimidate Democrats across the country, failed in NJ-11. But it did not.”
Malinowski pledged to oppose a candidate backed by AIPAC in the general election and said he would urge his supporters to do the same.
He said the group “demands absolute fealty to positions that are outside the mainstream of the American pro-Israel community” and smears those who don’t share their positions.
“The threat unlimited dark money poses to our democracy is far more significant than the views of a single member of Congress on Middle East policy,” Malinowski said.
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