The deep-blue Garden State got a little bit redder Thursday night.
New Jersey’s new congresswoman not only favors the same ruby shade of lipstick as “Squad” member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but agitates for far-left, democratic socialist policies backed by her former boss Bernie Sanders, AOC and Elizabeth Warren.
Analilia Mejia, a daughter of immigrants, cruised to victory in the special election to serve out the remainder of Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s term in the House.
She is likely to face her defeated Republican rival, Joe Hathaway, again in November for the right to represent the 11th District for a full two-year term. It would be her fourth election in nine months.
Mejia, 48, served as a delegate for Sanders during the 2016 Democratic primary campaign and helped run his 2020 bid before working in the Labor Department during the Biden administration.
Her campaign platform follows the progressive manifesto: Abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, implementation of Medicare for All, tuition-free public college, student loan forgiveness, a $25 minimum wage and a tax on the wealthy.
She will likely align herself with the progressive “Squad” in the House and described herself Thursday night as the “sassy new member of Congress.”
“Don’t forget,” she reminded her supporters, “in eight weeks we got to do it again.”
After defeating 11 rivals in February’s special Democratic primary — with the help of endorsements from Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders and Warren — Mejia faces a June 2 primary to secure the nomination in the Nov. 3 midterm.
The beaten Hathaway, the former mayor of Randolph Township, told his backers he was ready to face Mejia again in November, “when more voices will be heard and the full electorate will have its say.”
During the campaign, Hathaway attacked Mejia as a socialist — comparing her to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — and an antisemite after she argued that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza during its war against Hamas.
“My opinion is that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is a war criminal,” she said in March, adding: “I do not extend the blame I feel towards him toward the Israeli people or the Jewish people.”
“As a member of Congress, I would use every legislative power at my disposal to protect the rights of Jewish constituents and convene spaces to educate and to fight antisemitism, because I know it’s real,” she said during a debate with Hathaway.
Democrats see Mejia’s win as a sign voters are rejecting President Trump’s policies and expressing discontent with the high cost of living. New Jersey’s affluent 11th District – which covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties – was long a Republican stronghold but has become increasingly Democratic since Trump’s ascenscion to the top of the GOP.
“My opponent will speak a nice game about affordability, but in fact, Republicans like himself and Donald Trump have been driving your economic instability,” she said in the debate.
Mejia, the daughter of an undocumented mother from Colombia and a father from the Dominican Republic, was born and raised in Elizabeth, NJ, and her background has shaped her views on immigration and ICE.
“This is a rogue agency that’s committing human rights violations on a daily basis,” she said. “You can’t reform that or fix it with more oversight. We have to abolish ICE, shut down Delaney Hall [detention facility in Newark], and hold every single person responsible for their crimes against humanity. And we need to do it now before more people die in cages on American soil. Enough is enough.”
