Democratic Primary Update in New Jersey

On Wednesday morning, a former senior campaign aide to Senator Bernie Sanders was holding a slim lead in the Democratic special primary, aiming to fill the seat of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill in the House of Representatives.

Though around 6,000 votes are still to be counted, Analilia Mejia was leading with 28.8% of the nearly 61,000 votes cast across 11 candidates, just edging out former Congressman Tom Malinowski, who secured 28.0%. The margin? A mere 486 votes.

Following them, former Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way was trailing at 17.4%, with Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill at 14.2%. The remaining candidates didn’t fare as well, with none reaching over 3% support.

Interestingly, Malinowski began the night with a noticeable lead, largely due to early mail-in voting results. However, Mejia managed to flip the script with a strong showing on the first day of voting.

As for the mail-in ballots, those that were postmarked by Election Day are still arriving—some counties, including Essex, Morris, and Passaic, reported unprocessed mail-in votes. This leaves the final outcome somewhat uncertain.

Looking ahead, it appears that either Mejia or Malinowski will be the clear frontrunner in the special election set for April 16 against Republican challenger Joe Hathaway, to complete the remaining term of Sherrill.

Interestingly, neither the incoming governor nor Senator Cory Booker has declared their support in the primary. Despite this, Malinowski has drawn progressive backing, thanks in part to Andy Kim’s endorsement, who is also from New Jersey.

As for Mejia, her political background as a former president of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance helped her earn endorsements from prominent figures such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren, along with various notable progressives including Sanders, Newark Mayor Russ Barak, and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.