Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Former Rep. Tom Malinowski has conceded his loss to Analilia Mejia in the New Jersey special election for the congressional seat left by new Gov. Mikie Sherill.
Malinowski was one of 11 Democratic candidates that ran for the seat, and he lost to Mejia by 889 votes. Mejia is expected to host a press conference later Tuesday.
"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 Donald Trump," Malinowski said in his concession statement. "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."
Mejia will face Joe Hathaway, the Republican mayor of Randolph, N.J., on April 16. She worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during his presidential campaign in 2020. Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., endorsed her.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., congratulated Mejia on her win. He said the district "deserves a representative who will stand up against the harm Trump and Republicans are doing to our state."
