Top New Jersey Democrats lined up behind far-left, anti-Israel activist Analila Mejia on Tuesday in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District — even as a moderate Jewish state assemblymember publicly is mulling a bid against Mejia in the June regular election primary.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who previously held the seat, and Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) all endorsed Mejia, the surprise winner of last week’s special election primary race. Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who conceded the race to Mejia Tuesday morning, also backed her, as did several members of New Jersey’s House delegation.

Sherrill said in a statement she is “very proud to endorse” Mejia’s campaign.

“New Jersey’s 11th District has gone from a Trump district to once again showing the country that a commitment to working families and our Democratic values is a winning playbook,” Sherrill said. “I am grateful to the talented field of Democrats who stepped up to take on the threats and chaos coming from Washington. Now, we must turn to the critical work at hand: ensuring that we keep this seat blue and standing up to Trump’s attacks on our rights and economic opportunity.”

Booker, a pro-Israel Democrat, said Tuesday that the district “deserves a representative who will stand up against the harm Trump and Republicans are doing to our state.”

“I’m proud to support Analilia and her people-powered campaign to ensure we keep the 11th district blue on April 16th,” he continued.

Kim also backed Mejia, taking a veiled shot at the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project’s spending against Malinowski, as well as the New Jersey political machine.

“NJ politics is clearly in a new era where the voters get to decide instead of having the choice made for them,” Kim said. “Let’s keep fighting against machine politics and dark money and get [Mejia] into Congress. There is so much at stake in our country.”

In a later joint statement, Booker and Kim explicitly endorsed Mejia in the June primary as well.

Malinowski, in his statement, praised Mejia for her campaign, but traced his loss in large part to the ad campaign against him by UDP, which spent more than $2 million to oppose him.

“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 in a statement. “I wish I could say that this effort, which was meant to intimidate Democrats across the country, failed in NJ-11. But it did not.”

Malinowski said that “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.”

New Jersey Democratic Reps. Rob Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver also endorsed Mejia in a joint statement, offering their backing both in the special general election and the June primary.

“Analilia is the fighter the 11th District needs — from taking on the Trump Administration to championing workers’ rights — and we are proud to support her as the next Congresswoman for this district,” the statement reads. “Unifying behind Analilia is critical to our efforts for a Democratic House majority and defeating House Republicans’ agenda of chaos and terror. We should all be united in our support for her as she joins our delegation in the battle for the soul of our nation.”

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin also offered Mejia his congratulations and support.

Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Rosaura Bagolie, who is Jewish and an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, told Politico on Monday that she was considering a challenge to Mejia in the June primary, with few if any of the candidates who ran against Mejia in the February primary likely to run.

Bagolie said that she is “definitely considering” a bid for the seat, calling Mejia “not representative of the moderate Democrats of this district,” and saying that a race between her and Mejia would be an “election is between two women who come from the same walk of life and have a different view on politics.”

UDP indicated following the primary last week that it would be considering further spending in the June primary. Bagolie told Politico that she would “actively not be seeking” support from any outside groups.

It’s unclear whether the near-unified support for Mejia from state Democratic leaders will impact her plans.

In the state Assembly, Bagolie, who represents Livingston, Montclair and Milburn, has been one of the lead sponsors of legislation codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, and was the lead sponsor of a 2024 resolution offering support for Israel after Hamas’ attacks.

Alongside other legislators, she visited Israel in March 2024.

Speaking with hostage families and visiting the sites of Hamas’ attacks, Bagolie said she felt “anger, triggered by the acknowledgment of humans committing profoundly evil acts, stems from our compassion and the innate pursuit of justice and mercy. Confronting this darkness challenges our belief in humanity’s inherent goodness.”

In a speech at a celebration of Israel’s 77th Independence Day, Bagolie described Israel as a “miracle” and a “homeland reborn from the ashes of history. A beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in a region that too often only knows turmoil. A place where Jewish lives thrive, no matter where you come from, and where people of all faith identities can live with dignity. Israel is not just a place on a map. It’s a living, breathing promise that the Jewish people would never again be without a home, and we will continue to fight every day to maintain our home.”

She said that supporting a “strong, secure Israel” is good for the United States’ national interests as well.

Bagolie said she felt it was important for her to visit Israel in person “so that when those try to convince me that I’m wrong, or that what I am feeling and seeing is wrong, I can tell them I’ve walked it. I’ve lived it. I’ve seen it. And I feel it in my heart till this day, and you are not going to change my mind.”

She said she felt a particular connection to Edan Alexander, the hostage who grew up in New Jersey, seeing similarities between him and her own son. “Seeing the video of the torture Edan is going through and having held his mother in my arms … my heart fell.”

She also vowed not to be silent about the antisemitism growing in the state, arguing that fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel cannot be partisan issues. She highlighted the pervasive fear and threats that her family and the entire Jewish community face.

Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, who was endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel in the special election primary and had not ruled out running in the June primary as other special election candidates did, has not announced her plans, and did not respond to multiple requests for comment.