Democrat Analilia Mejía, harsh Israel critic, wins New Jersey special election to Congress

Democrat Analilia Mejía wins a New Jersey special election for the US Congress, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway on a message of standing up to US President Donald Trump and defending progressive policies.

Mejía, 48, a former head of the Working Families Alliance who had support from Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders, will fill the seat previously held by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill and serve until January.

She narrowly beat a more moderate opponent, Tom Malinowski, in a February Democratic primary that saw the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC spend $2.3 million against Malinowski, who supported conditions on military aid to Israel.

Mejia has been harsher in her criticism of Israel and, unlike Malinowski, refers to the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza as a “genocide.”

The Associated Press called the race for Mejía minutes after the polls closed yesterday.

Mejía later spoke in Montclair to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters who called out in unison with her that she was an “unbought, unbossed, sassy new member of Congress.”

Republicans criticized her throughout the campaign as too far to the left. She pushed back against those arguments, calling for better health care and education and attacking billionaires for having a “stranglehold” on the economy.

Her speech echoed Sanders, also a harsh critic of Israel, who congratulated her in a social media post and said she would be a “great progressive addition” to Congress.

Hathaway, 38, tried to use Mejía’s progressive credentials to his advantage, as national Republicans cast her as a socialist. After her victory, he congratulated Mejía and wished her well. He added that he still believes the district is looking for “balanced, pragmatic” leadership, not “far-left policies.”

The two could go head-to-head again in November’s election for a full two-year term.