Malinowski concedes NJ-11 primary to Mejia, blaming ‘massive flood of dark money’ for loss

Tom Malinowski has conceded defeat in the special Democratic primary election for New Jersey’s 11th congressional district and congratulated the apparent winner, Analilia Mejia, on her upset victory.

As of this morning, Mejia leads Malinowski by a margin of 889 votes, 18,584 to 17,695 (29.1% to 27.7%), in the race to succeed Gov. Mikie Sherrill. The AP has not yet officially called the race, nor has the New Jersey Globe (which initially declared Malinowski the victor on election night before retracting its call); there are likely still several thousand ballots left to be counted, but Mejia has only increased her lead with each new update since Election Night.

In his concession statement, Malinowski blamed his loss in part on the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent more than $2 million on anti-Malinowski attack ads focused on ICE funding and stock trading. The group claimed it was doing so because the former congressman was insufficiently pro-Israel, but its actions seemingly backfired, given that Mejia is substantially more of an Israel critic than Malinowski.

“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. I met several voters in the final days of the campaign who had seen the ads and asked me, sincerely: ‘Are you MAGA? Are you for ICE?’”

Malinowski said he would support Mejia in the April 16 special general election, when she will be the substantial favorite against GOP nominee Joe Hathaway. He also said he would oppose any effort by AIPAC to defeat Mejia or support an alternate candidate in June, when Mejia will have to run for renomination to a full term in the House.

“If AIPAC backs a candidate – openly or surreptitiously – in the June NJ-11 congressional primary, I will oppose that candidate and urge my supporters to do so as well,” Malinowski said. “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.”

The concession statement does not, however, explicitly rule out the possibility of Malinowski seeking a rematch against Mejia himself in June; prior to the election, he had said he did not intend to run for a full term if he lost the primary. When asked whether a rematch may be in the cards, Malinowski’s campaign referred back to his concession statement.

A handful of other candidates have been floated as potential June opponents to Mejia, who ran as the field’s left-most candidate and whose victory is a stunning achievement for state progressives. Former Lieutenant Gov. Tahesha Way, who finished in third place last Tuesday and who was seemingly AIPAC’s preferred candidate in the race, has not said what she intends to do; Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie (D-Livingston), who stayed out of the special election, told Politico NJ last night that she’s considering a campaign.

But there are already other signs of consolidation around Mejia, including from Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who endorsed Mejia the day after his fourth-place finish in the special primary. Upon Malinowski’s concession, a trio of progressive House members from nearby districts – Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City), and LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) – announced that they’re on Team Mejia as well.

“Unifying behind Analilia is critical to our efforts for a Democratic House majority and defeating House Republicans’ agenda of chaos and terror,” the three House members said in a joint statement. “We should all be united in our support for her as she joins our delegation in the battle for the soul of our nation.”

Malinowski’s full concession statement

“I congratulate Analilia Mejia on her hard won victory in the NJ-11 special primary. I look forward to supporting her in the April general election. It is essential that we send a Democrat to Washington to fill this seat, not a rubber stamp for Trump.

Analilia deserves unequivocal praise and credit for running a positive campaign and for inspiring so many voters on Election Day. But 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. 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. I met several voters in the final days of the campaign who had seen the ads and asked me, sincerely: “Are you MAGA? Are you for ICE?”

My convictions – including my support for Israel as a democratic and Jewish state – don’t change because of who supports or opposes me. But our Democratic Party should have nothing to do with a pro-Trump-billionaire-funded organization that demands absolute fealty to positions that are outside the mainstream of the American pro-Israel community, and then smears those who don’t fall into line. If AIPAC backs a candidate – openly or surreptitiously – in the June NJ-11 Congressional primary, I will oppose that candidate and urge my supporters to do so as well. 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.

I am proud of the joyful and substantive campaign my team and I ran, and am immensely grateful to the volunteers and staff who made it possible. Their mission, and mine, will continue.”