New Jersey progressive candidate is the projected winner of the Democratic nomination in the race for Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D) former House seat, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) announced Friday.
Her closest rival, former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), conceded the race on Tuesday.
Mejia declared victory hours later, thanking supporters and pledging to represent her district’s interests in Congress if she sails through the general election in April.
“People will say that this district is not the kind of district in which a progressive or a lefty could win. But it’s not about left-right. It’s about right and wrong,” she told supporters. The director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, Mejia was the most high-profile progressive candidate in the race, having scored endorsements from Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Her apparent victory in the primary sets her up as the favored candidate in the April general election in a district that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by 9 points in 2024. It’s the latest boost for the party’s left flank and represents a stunning upset against Malinowski, who outraised her and had a higher name ID in the state by virtue of his previous two terms in Congress, ending in 2023.
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