Mejia convincingly wins NJ-11 Democratic primary for first full term

Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) has convincingly won renomination for her first full term in Congress, the New Jersey Globe projects, beating back three lesser-known Democrats who tried to argue that the suburban district should oust its progressive new congresswoman.

As of 9:14 p.m. and with around two-thirds of the vote reporting, Mejia has 82% of the vote, while her three foes – Chatham Councilman Justin Strickland, former Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello, and tech engineer Joseph Lewis – have 6% each.

Mejia, who has a long history in both state and national activist circles, was one of 11 Democrats who competed to succeed Gov. Mikie Sherrill in a special election for her suburban North Jersey seat earlier this year. The Democratic field was full of notable names like former Rep. Tom Malinowski, former Lieutenant Gov. Tahesha Way, and Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, and Mejia was considered an underdog.

But Mejia defied the odds, winning a 29% to 28% upset victory with minimal establishment support but plenty of progressive groups and politicians on her side. Her win was also aided by a major miscalculation by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which spent millions to sink Malinowski and boost Way but inadvertently cleared the path for Mejia.

In the weeks after the primary, there was widespread speculation about whether another more moderate candidate – Way, perhaps, or Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie – would challenge her for a full term.

Those would-be opponents decided against it, however, and Mejia was only left with a set of minor opponents. Strickland had finished in sixth place in the February primary with 2% of the vote, while Cresitello, despite once being the mayor of an important town in the district, has since become a gadflyish perennial candidate.

Mejia was never in any danger of losing, but if she had turned in an underwhelming performance against a set of unknown foes, that might have helped convince her critics that she could be beatable in 2028. Given that she’s currently earning more than four-fifths of the vote, however, she’s not showing a lot of obvious vulnerabilities among Democratic voters.

In November, Mejia will once again face Randolph Councilman Joe Hathaway, who won today’s GOP primary unopposed. Hathaway was also Mejia’s foe in the April special election, a contest the now-congresswoman won 60% to 39%  – a substantial overperformance compared to past Democratic wins in the district, though a few heavily Jewish towns weren’t as amenable to Mejia.