Progressive Who Wants to Abolish ICE Wins House Seat in a Blowout — Backed by Bernie and AOC

A progressive Democrat who openly campaigned on abolishing ICE just won a House seat in New Jersey. And she did it in a blowout.

Analilia Mejia, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, crushed Republican Joe Hathaway in the NJ-11 special election on Thursday night. The race was called minutes after the polls closed — that’s how lopsided it was.

Mejia ran on a platform that included abolishing ICE, raising taxes on the wealthy, universal health care, and universal child care. She was also the only candidate during the primary to say she agreed with human rights groups that accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.

Conservative accounts wasted no time highlighting what this means:

Far left progressive Analilia Mejia, who wants to abolish ICE and "tax the rich" will succeed Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District pic.twitter.com/n9dFhLNQoB

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) April 17, 2026

The seat was vacated when former Rep. Mikie Sherrill left Congress after winning New Jersey’s gubernatorial race. It’s a blue-leaning district — Sherrill won it by 15 points — but Republicans had hoped to flip it and pad their razor-thin majority.

Instead, the opposite happened.

Fox News reported on the significance of the race:

Republicans fell far short in their attempt to flip the seat, as the GOP clings to a fragile House majority. The party faced a steep uphill climb in this blue-leaning district.

Mejia declared in her victory speech: “In November, when I jumped into this race, the odds were stacked against us in every way. And in mere weeks, we did the impossible and won.”

Fairleigh Dickinson political scientist Dan Cassino observed: “Democratic turnout is through the roof, and Republican turnout is depressed.”

That last quote should be a blaring alarm for the GOP. Depressed Republican turnout in a special election is not a good sign heading into the midterms.

And it wasn’t just her victory that raised eyebrows. It was her victory speech that really turned heads:

Leftist Analilia Mejia, just won NJ's special election to fill Mikie Sherrill's congressional seat and gave an unhinged victory speech labeling Trump and Elon Musk as "the true radicals."

Mejia wants to abolish ICE and push socialist policies

Good luck, New Jersey! pic.twitter.com/ld4HHaUc6G

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 17, 2026

WHYY had additional details on Mejia’s background and what her win means for Congress:

Mejia is the former head of the NJ Working Families Alliance who defeated 10 Democratic primary candidates, including former U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski. She secured endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during the primary.

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Her campaign platform centered on abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, protecting reproductive rights, access to health care and supporting working families. A Democratic victory in the Democratic-leaning district further narrows the slim majority Republicans hold in the chamber.

Once Mejia is sworn in, the House balance shifts to 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, one independent, and three vacancies. That means Speaker Johnson can only lose a single Republican vote on any party-line legislation and still pass it.

A candidate who wants to abolish ICE and called Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide” is now headed to Congress. And the GOP majority just got thinner.