AIPAC’s $4 million campaign badly backfires in NJ Democratic primary

A relatively unknown progressive candidate surged into the lead in the special New Jersey Democratic primary to replace Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress after pro-Israel groups spent millions attacking former Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J.

Several news outlets like The Hill, Bloomberg and NJ Insider called the election for Malinowski Thursday night before a considerable number of day-of votes for progressive activist and union organizer Analalia Mejia overtook Malinowski’s early voting lead. As of Friday, the candidates are nearly tied with Mejia holding a slight lead. AIPAC’s preferred candidate, former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, sits in a distant third place with 17% of the vote on Friday.

The pro-Israel group’s super PAC previously supported Malinowski during his two terms serving New Jersey’s 7th District in Congress. Malinowski had received funding from AIPAC directly and nearly $400,000 in pro-Israel interests. However, the PAC turned its favor away after Malinowski said he wasn’t going to “unconditionally, unquestionably, blindly support any request for assistance that Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel might make.”

Directly and through subsidiary PACs, AIPAC launched a $4 million campaign against Malinowski, including attack ads that criticized his voting record on ICE funding in 2019, which a majority of Democrats voted for. Those ads may have sent the wrong message to voters who resonated with the anti-ICE message and gravitated toward Mejia, the most progressive and pro-Palestinian candidate in the field.

Mejia was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who campaigned alongside her across the district.

“We as progressives—we are prepared to take on the oligarchs, take on Trump, to fight for the working class of this country,” Sen. Sanders said on the eve of the special election. “What Analilia understands is that the people of this country want fundamental change. Working people are hurting and we cannot continue to have a nation in which billionaires get much, much richer, but so many of our people in New Jersey and Vermont are having difficulty buying food, paying their rent, or paying for their healthcare.”

The extremely high turnout is a positive sign for Democrats in the 2026 midterms. The June 2024 primary in the same district saw a total turnout of 52,000. With 91% of the votes counted, Thursday’s special election primary in January saw more than 61,000 voters.

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