Reading the New Jersey results
Plus, supporters of Israel or Zionists?
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the too-close-to-call special election race in New Jersey’s 11th District, where AIPAC’s super PAC invested heavily in recent weeks against former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who now trails far-left activist Analilia Mejia by several hundred votes. We report on antisemitism envoy Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun’s comments at the Hudson Institute yesterday, and cover the results of a Jewish Federations of North America survey of Jewish Americans that found a significant gap between respondents who said they were supportive of Israel and those who said they were Zionist. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Sen. Lindsey Graham, Martin Weil and Georgia state Sen. Esther Panitch.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with assists from Danielle Cohen-Kanik, Gabby Deutch and Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: Paige Cognetti running in Josh Shapiro’s footsteps in key Pa. swing district; Mississippi’s Jewish community rallies after antisemitic arson; and Amy Acton became a household name in Ohio — now, she wants to be governor. Print the latest edition here.
What We’re Watching
- We’re waiting for the official results of the special election Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, where far-left activist Analilia Mejia is leading former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who had been targeted by AIPAC’s super PAC in a $2 million ad blitz in the weeks leading up to the election, by several hundred votes. More below.
- Indirect talks between senior U.S. and Iranian officials, mediated by Oman, began in Muscat this morning local time. White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are leading the talks from the U.S. side.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi and said that Iran would defend itself against what he described as the U.S.’ “excessive demands or adventurism.” Al-Busaidi then met with Witkoff and Kushner. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in an X post, “The consultations focused on preparing the appropriate circumstances for resuming the diplomatic and technical negotiations by ensuring the importance of these negotiations, in light of the parties’ determination to ensure their success in achieving sustainable security and stability.”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to travel to Australia on Sunday for a four-day visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra at the invitation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
The results in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District last night may not make national headlines, but should be sending a shock wave across Democratic campaigns and pro-Israel institutions.
Analilia Mejia, the far-left, Bernie Sanders-endorsed activist, narrowly led in a crowded field of Democratic candidates in a primary election for an affluent, moderate-minded district, despite long odds.
With most votes counted, Mejia leads former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who was considered the favorite, 29-28%. Former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, favored by pro-Israel groups and endorsed by Democratic Majority for Israel, finished in third place, winning just 17% of the vote.
Mejia’s apparent primary victory is another sign that the socialist wing of the Democratic Party — as exemplified by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s out-of-nowhere success across the Hudson River — is ascendant. Mejia was the only candidate to call Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and condemned Israel just days after Oct. 7 without making a mention of Hamas’ terror attack against the Jewish state.
As early as Oct. 10, before the Israeli invasion of Gaza began, Mejia said: “Every fiber of my being is horrified beyond words at what is furthering in Gaza.”
The fact that a candidate as far to the left as Mejia could prevail in one of the most affluent, suburban districts in the country speaks volumes about the state of the party. This is a district, based in Morris County, filled with Wall Street bankers, venture capitalists and other wealthy white-collar workers that was a reliably Republican area not long ago.
Mejia is also beating the party machine-backed candidate, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, on his home turf — an unprecedented dynamic for an underdog with next-to-no institutional support.
SUNKEN STRATEGY
AIPAC’s bet appears to backfire in New Jersey

In New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District, the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project made a $2.3 million bet against former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ). It was clear early on last night that the bet wasn’t paying off — but now the race could end up in what local Jewish leaders are calling a worst-case scenario, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Pac play: Though some were concerned about Malinowski’s growing criticism of Israel since leaving office, other Jewish leaders had been puzzled by UDP’s decision to attack a lawmaker they saw as an ally during his previous congressional term — particularly when a more strident Israel opponent such as Analilia Mejia, a Sen. Bernie Sanders-endorsed activist, was in the race. Now, some believe that UDP’s attacks on Malinowski, which attacked the former congressman’s vote in 2019 for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his stock trading while in office, may have pushed voters toward Mejia, rather than toward a more moderate candidate, leaving pro-Israel advocates in an even worse position than if it had not intervened.










































































