After special-election victory, Analilia Mejia faces new test in NJ-11 primary
The transition from organizer to congresswoman was never going to be simple.
For Analilia Mejia, it has been nonstop: Learning the ways of Washington, another election already approaching back home, and proving that her grassroots progressive politics can resonate in a politically moderate district and a closely divided Congress.
The daughter of Colombian and Dominican immigrants, Mejia won an April special election to fill Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s vacated seat in New Jersey’s 11th District, which spans parts of Morris, Essex and Passaic counties. That followed a cliffhanger victory over former congressman and moderate Tom Malinowski in a special Democratic primary.
On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, she reappears on the ballot — this time in a primary seeking the nomination to run for a full term.
Mejia says her focus has remained the same as it was before she entered Congress a few short weeks ago: Staying connected to the people she represents.
“I think what most politicians are missing is a tr…