BREAKING NEWS! Analilia Mejia won one of the first big congressional primaries of 2026!
AIPAC opposed her. She was called too tough on ICE. She was told not to even try running in a primary against a former Congressman.
But Bernie Sanders’ former political director won with a message of fighting for working families against billionaires and corporate excess, showing why she is a nationally-respected organizer!
This victory is making national news! Early wins like this set the tone for the entire 2026 election year, sending a signal that voters want Democrats to fight with BACKBONE against powerful interests – from Trump to ICE to billionaire oligarchs who loot the government and rig our economy against working people.
Here’s how Analilia’s victory is impacting the national conventional wisdom already.
In today’s New York Times, columnist Michelle Goldberg wrote a column called "A New Jersey Primary Shows the Depth of Democratic Fury." Here are some key excerpts:
Her rivals in last week’s crowded contest also criticized ICE. But Mejia, the daughter of Colombian and Dominican immigrants and a veteran of the progressive Working Families Party, was unique in the clarity of her opposition. She called for ICE to be abolished, not just reformed. And she tied the agency’s violent rampages — seen most starkly in Minnesota — to President Trump’s broader assault on American democracy, while seeking to imbue people with a sense that they could fight back.
Should Mejia prevail, it will be because Democratic voters are dissatisfied with what many see as their party’s anemic response to Trump’s autocratic thuggery…elections are among the best tools we have for gauging public sentiment, and because this one was the first congressional primary of the year, many looked to it as a barometer of Democratic voters’ mood. Now we have a preliminary reading: They are furious and terrified to a degree that Democratic leaders still don’t fully grasp. The apparent outcome in New Jersey’s 11th has stunned many political insiders…
ICE, [Mejia] argues, is irredeemable and needs to be replaced. "What we are against is the chaos, the violence, the hatred, the impunity, the curtailment and violation of constitutional protections and rights," she said. Democratic voters agree: According to a recent YouGov poll, 76 percent of them want ICE abolished. (So do 47 percent of independents.)...Trump’s rapid dismantling of American democracy has thrust us into a new political world, and Democratic voters want leaders who can adapt. Yes, taking bold stands that can be construed as radical is risky, but so is appearing to consent to an intolerable status quo. "Playing it safe," said Mejia, "is a mistake."
PCCC co-founder Adam Green spoke at Analilia’s Election Eve volunteer rally, along with Bernie Sanders. Here is how he framed the national implications of this race:
Across the country, there are millions of people who want to do something, who are feeling despair…and the good news for the people on this Zoom is that there is literally nothing more important you can do in America for the next 25 hours than help elect Analilia to Congress. And that is not an overstatement.
There are some people who legitimately think “any blue will do.” D versus R…and for that reason, they think being anti-Trump, while we all are anti-Trump, is sufficient to get across the finish line in 2026 and 2028. They think maybe we can win the next couple elections with a technical knockout, or by process of elimination, just by not being the other people. And therefore this school of thought says, don't stand for anything. Don't rock the boat, just almost proactively say nothing.
[We] have a different theory of the case, which is, let's inspire people again. Let's take people who really don't like either political party and say, “You know what? There are special leaders out there that are organizing and rebuilding our country and fighting for you against very powerful interests.” And if Analilia wins this election, it will send a signal to primary voters in countless other primaries that are about to happen month after month from this point on through November, and it will send a signal to Democratic primary voters in '27 and '28 that it's okay to be inspired again. That being inspired and winning are the same. That electing real organizers is key to getting people to the polls. And hopefully we can live in a world where we're not just eking out victories in the good years and descending into fascism in the bad years, but we're building a durable coalition, organizing a durable coalition by elected people like Analilia.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
– The PCCC Elections Team
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