Former Rep. Tom Malinowski vowed Tuesday to oppose any candidate backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee following his defeat in the Democratic primary in New Jersey‘s 11th Congressional District.
Malinowski conceded the congressional special election primary to progressive activist Analilia Mejia on Tuesday after Mejia notched 889 votes more than Malinowski in her comeback win. Malinowski, the former representative from New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, lost his bid after AIPAC spent over $2.3 million in attack ads against him. Malinowski praised Mejia’s “positive” and “inspiring” campaign but also railed against AIPAC in his concession post.
“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,” Malinowski said. “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?'”
AIPAC spent about 58.6% of its funds in support of Democratic candidates in the 2024 election cycle compared to the 38.5% it spent on Republican candidates, according to Open Secrets.
When reached for comment on Malinowski’s statement by the Washington Examiner, AIPAC spokeswoman Deryn Sousa said, “AIPAC is a bipartisan grassroots organization.”
“Our six million members will be very active this election cycle supporting Democrats and Republicans who strengthen the U.S.-Israel partnership and opposing those—of either party—who may seek to undermine it,” Sousa said.
AIPAC aired the negative ads against Malinowski following his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s handling of the war in Gaza and Malinowski’s refusal to rule out conditioning aid to Israel. But Malinowski, whom AIPAC formerly endorsed in his prior congressional races, has maintained a pro-Israel stance and support for funding Israel’s defense, according to the New York Times.
“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,” Malinowski said. “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.”
AIPAC had endorsed former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Taesha Way in the 11-person Democratic primary. But after Way only took 17.4% of the vote last week, while Malinowski received 27.7% of the vote, Mejia pulled ahead into first place with 29.1% of the vote. Mejia has been much more critical of Israel than Malinowski.
“My convictions – including my support for Israel as a democratic and Jewish state – don’t change because of who supports or opposes me,” Malinowski said in his concession statement. “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.”
TOM MALINOWSKI CONCEDES NEW JERSEY PRIMARY ELECTION TO ANALILIA MEJIA
Mejia, former national political director for Sen. Bernie Sanders‘s (I-VT) 2020 presidential campaign, is now set to take on Republican candidate Joe Hathaway, the mayor of Randolph Township, in the April general special election. The election is to fill the seat formerly held by Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ).
New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District will then be up for grabs again during the regular midterm election cycle on Nov. 3, with the primaries being held on June 2.
