UPDATE: Former NJ-7 Congressman Tom Malinowski conceded the special election Democratic primary for Nj-11 to Analilia Mejia on Feb. 10. When asked if he would run again in the June primary, a Malinowski campaign spokesperson responded, “We’re letting the statement speak for itself.” Read the release from Congressman Tom Malinowski here:
Millburn, NJ— Congressman Tom Malinowski today released the following statement:
“I congratulate Analilia Mejia on her hard won victory in the NJ-11 special primary. I look forward to supporting her in the April general election. It is essential that we send a Democrat to Washington to fill this seat, not a rubber stamp for Trump.
Analilia deserves unequivocal praise and credit for running a positive campaign and for inspiring so many voters on Election Day. But the outcome of this race cannot be understood without also taking into account the massive flood of dark money that AIPAC spent on dishonest ads during the last three weeks. I wish I could say today that this effort, which was meant to intimidate Democrats across the country, failed in NJ-11. But it did not. I met several voters in the final days of the campaign who had seen the ads and asked me, sincerely: “Are you MAGA? Are you for ICE?”
My convictions — including my support for Israel as a democratic and Jewish state — don’t change because of who supports or opposes me. But our Democratic Party should have nothing to do with a pro-Trump-billionaire-funded organization that demands absolute fealty to positions that are outside the mainstream of the American pro-Israel community, and then smears those who don’t fall into line. If AIPAC backs a candidate — openly or surreptitiously — in the June NJ-11 Congressional primary, I will oppose that candidate and urge my supporters to do so as well. The threat unlimited dark money poses to our democracy is far more significant than the views of a single member of Congress on Middle East policy.
I am proud of the joyful and substantive campaign my team and I ran, and am immensely grateful to the volunteers and staff who made it possible. Their mission, and mine, will continue.”
