Malinowski concedes to Mejia in Democratic US House special primary in New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Former congressman Tom Malinowski conceded on Tuesday to Analilia Mejia, a longtime progressive activist and former political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders, in the crowded Democratic primary in New Jersey’s U.S. House special election.

The special election is being held to fill the seat vacated when Mikie Sherrill stepped down to become governor.

“I look forward to supporting her in the April general election,” Malinowski said in a statement.

Mejia overtook Malinowski by a narrow margin on election night. The Associated Press has not yet called Thursday’s race.

All three counties in the district report some mail-in ballots yet to be processed. Also, mail-in ballots postmarked by election day can arrive as late as Wednesday and still be counted.

She had the endorsement of noted progressives, including Sanders, an independent from Vermont, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

A former director of the Working Families Alliance in New Jersey, Mejia, 48, is a well-known figure in state politics, advocating for progressive causes. She was Sanders’ political director during his 2020 presidential run, and served as deputy director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau under President Joe Biden.

Mejia would face Republican Joe Hathaway, who was unopposed in his primary, in the special general election April 16.

Other leading Democrats who sought the nomination were Brendan Gill, an elected commissioner in Essex County, and Tahesha Way, who was lieutenant governor and secretary of state for two terms until last month.

Also on the ballot were John Bartlett, Zach Beecher, J-L Cauvin, Marc Chaaban, Cammie Croft, Dean Dafis, Jeff Grayzel, Justin Strickland and Anna Lee Williams.

The district covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey, including some of New York City’s wealthier suburbs.

Sherrill represented the district for four terms after her 2018 election. She won despite the region’s historical loyalty to the Republican Party, a dynamic that began to shift during President Donald Trump’s first term.