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Analilia Mejia

Not to be confused with Annia Mejía.
Analilia Mejia
Mejia in November 2025
Personal details
Born1978 or 1979 (age 47–48)
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
PartyDemocratic
SpouseRobert Rogers
Children2
ResidenceGlen Ridge, New Jersey
EducationRutgers University (BA, MPP, MLR)
Occupation
WebsiteCampaign site

Analilia Mejia (/ˌænəˈlɪliə mɛˈhiːə/ AN-ə-LIL-ee-ə meh-HEE-ə;[1] Spanish: Analilia Mejía [anaˈlilja meˈxi.a]; born 1978 or 1979)[2] is an American activist, politician, and nonprofit director. The Democratic nominee in the 2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election, she is facing Republican nominee Joe Hathaway in the April 16 general election.[3] Mejia is the co-director of the progressive advocacy group Center for Popular Democracy.[4] She previously worked as the national political director for Bernie Sanders's 2020 presidential campaign and served in the United States Department of Labor during the Biden administration.[2]

Early life and education

Mejia was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a mother from Colombia and a father from the Dominican Republic, both of whom were factory workers; her mother was initially undocumented.[5] Raised in her birth city,[5] she earned an undergraduate degree in comparative literature from Rutgers University in 2000, a Masters of Public Policy from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in 2002, and a master's in labor relations and education from the School of Management and Labor Relations in 2003.[6]

Career

Mejia in 2009

Mejia worked as an organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers, served as political director of SEIU Local 32BJ, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, and as assistant political director at UNITE HERE in Chicago.[5]

Mejia (right) speaking during the Women's March on New Jersey in 2017.

In the 2012 United States Senate election in New Jersey, Mejia was the Latino/Labor Vote Director for incumbent Bob Menendez's campaign.[7] Starting in 2014, she was executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, an affiliate of the Working Families Party.[8] In the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, Mejia was a delegate for Bernie Sanders.[9] In 2019, she left the New Jersey Working Families Alliance to serve as national political director for Sanders's 2020 presidential campaign.[10]

Mejia was appointed deputy director of the United States Women's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Joe Biden administration.[4][7] She is currently co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy.[4]

2026 U.S. House campaign

Main article: 2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election

On November 25, 2025, Mejia announced her candidacy for the special election to New Jersey's 11th congressional district after Mikie Sherrill, the incumbent representative, was elected governor of New Jersey.[11] She and 10 other candidates, including former U.S. representative Tom Malinowski and former lieutenant governor Tahesha Way, ran in the Democratic primary. Mejia ran as a progressive, with endorsements from U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[12] During the primary, she spoke at a rally in Wayne, New Jersey as part of Sanders's Fighting Oligarchy tour.[1]

On election night, February 5, 2026, Decision Desk HQ and the New Jersey Globe called the election for Malinowski, who was leading in the counted votes. But both retracted their calls after Mejia surpassed Malinowski later that night.[13][14] On February 10, Malinowski conceded, though no major news outlet had yet called the race.[15] Later that day, CNN called the race for Mejia.[16] The Associated Press declared Mejia the winner on February 12.[17]

Personal life

As of March 2019, Mejia resides in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with her husband, Robert Rogers, their two sons, and her parents.[6] Mejia is Lutheran and a member of St. Stephan's ELCA Church.[18]

Electoral history

2026 New Jersey's 11th congressional district special election, Democratic primary results (>95% reporting)[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Analilia Mejia 19,083 29.27%
Democratic Tom Malinowski 17,976 27.57%
Democratic Tahesha Way 11,335 17.39%
Democratic Brendan Gill 9,373 14.38%
Democratic John Bartlett 1,774 2.72%
Democratic Justin Strickland 1,321 2.06%
Democratic Jeff Grayzel 1,242 1.91%
Democratic Zach Beecher 1,224 1.88%
Democratic Cammie Croft 684 1.05%
Democratic Anna Lee Williams 509 0.78%
Democratic J-L Cauvin 283 0.43%
Democratic Dean Dafis (withdrawn) 276 0.42%
Democratic Marc Chaaban (withdrawn) 116 0.18%
Total votes 65,196 100.00%

References

  1. ^ a b Bernie Sanders (January 19, 2026). Fighting Oligarchy with Analilia Mejia in New Jersey. Retrieved February 8, 2026 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ a b Nussbaum, Alex; Westhoven, William (February 6, 2026). "Who is Analilia Mejia? Activist in a tight primary in NJ-11 District". North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  3. ^ English, Molly; Bash, Dana; Wright, David; John, Arit (February 10, 2026). "Analilia Mejia will win New Jersey special primary after rival concedes and blames AIPAC for ad barrage". CNN. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Wildstein, David (November 14, 2025). "Analilia Mejia, a top staffer to Bernie Sanders in 2020, may seek Sherrill congressional seat". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c O'Dea, Colleen (March 9, 2016). "Profile: Family's Own Story Motivates Her to Help the Working Poor in NJ". NJ Spotlight. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  6. ^ a b Lally, Robin (March 13, 2019). "White House or Bust for Rutgers Alumna". Rutgers University. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Wildstein, David (February 4, 2021). "Analilia Mejia named to U.S. Department of Labor post". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  8. ^ Pizarro, Max (February 20, 2019). "Mejia to Leave Working Families to Serve as Political Director for Sanders for President". Insider NJ. Archived from the original on November 17, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2026.
  9. ^ Flanagan, Brenda. NJ Working Families executive director to join Bernie Sanders campaign | Video | NJ Spotlight News. Retrieved February 6, 2026 – via www.njspotlightnews.org.
  10. ^ Dovere, Edward-Isaac (February 19, 2019). "Bernie Sanders Is the Democratic Front-Runner". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  11. ^ Fox, Joey (November 25, 2025). "Analilia Mejia will run for NJ-11 with backing from Bernie Sanders". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  12. ^ Cohen, Max; Mutnick, Ally (February 6, 2026). "Progressive Mejia on brink of N.J. upset". Punchbowl News. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  13. ^ Tully, Marty; Kutz, Anna (February 6, 2026). "New Jersey special primary election could take days to call: DDHQ". NewsNation. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  14. ^ Fox, Joey (February 6, 2026). "RETRACTED: Tom Malinowski wins 11th district primary, beating back crowded field and AIPAC onslaught". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  15. ^ Tully, Tracey (February 10, 2026). "Malinowski Concedes to Analilia Mejia in New Jersey House Primary". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  16. ^ English, Molly; Bash, Dana; Wright, David; John, Arit (February 10, 2026). "Analilia Mejia will win New Jersey special primary after rival concedes and blames AIPAC for ad barrage". CNN. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  17. ^ Tully, Tracey (February 12, 2026). "In an Upset, Analilia Mejia, a Progressive, Wins a Democratic House Race". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 12, 2026.
  18. ^ Torrejón, Rodrigo (December 22, 2025). "After ICE Detainee's Death, Faith Leaders Hold Vigil Outside Delaney Hall, Call for Closure". Montclair Local. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  19. ^ "New Jersey 11th Congressional District special primary election results". Associated Press. February 6, 2026. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
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