Just what was AIPAC thinking?

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent lavishly through its political arm, the United Democracy Project, or UDP, to tear down Tom Malinowski in the CD-11 Democratic primary, most notably claiming he supports ICE enforcement in American cities. The charge was false, but it may have worked. Malinowski is almost 500 votes behind Analilia Mejia, although the race is not yet over.

The unwanted consequence - of all 11 candidates in the race, Mejia was probably the least supportive of Israel. And by slamming Malinowski, AIPAC may have helped her win.

Just crazy.

Back a few weeks ago, the Jewish caucus of the Morris County Democratic Committee held a candidate forum. Mejia was the only one not endorsing an official description of anti-semitism presented by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. She also wasn't comfortable with unconditional aid to Israel, long a United States ally.

Now she may be the winning candidate.

The Jewish Insider, a digital news site concentrating on Israeli affairs, this morning presented this understatement:

"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."

You think so?

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Here's another post primary thought.

Endorsements just ain't what they used to be - assuming that they once meant something. In years as a political observer, I have often thought that endorsements do little good.

Brendan Gill, who had endorsements from scores of elected officials, finished fourth in the race and was soundly beaten in his home county, Essex.

Look, voters don't care if a congressional candidate is endorsed by, say, a councilwoman in Livingston or a councilman in Belleville. Seems to me, candidates would be better off appealing to average people who vote and not fellow members of the political club.

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Analilia Mejia was described as the most left wing candidate in the CD-11 field, which seems fairly accurate.

Joe Hathaway, the Republican nominee, (he ran unopposed) agrees. He wasted no time labeling Mejia. Here is part of a fundraising appeal he sent out Friday morning:

"Democrat voters are on the brink of selecting extreme, far-Left progressive Analilia Mejia as their nominee in this April’s special general election for New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

Mejia was the HEAD of the New Jersey Working Families Party. With her at the helm, the organization proudly supported defunding the police and instituting cashless bail for violent criminals. Mejia has even promoted antisemitic attacks that put our Jewish neighbors in danger!"

You can expect more of that between now and the special election on April 16.

The district, however, remains very Democratic with about 60,000 more registered Dems than Republicans.

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As for Mejia, she described her primary race Friday morning as an "uphill battle." She noted that she didn't get into the race until November and that many voters did not know her. So, she met them at train stations throughout the district in early morning visits.

"We left everything on the ground. We connected with people on a daily basis," she said. Mejia said voters want a representative who "actually represents them."

To that end, she said ICE must be replaced by "something that isn't violent, that isn't shooting Americans in the street. ... And that resonated with folks."

While AIPAC likely helped her, Mejia called the ads against Malinowski "disgusting" and "detrimental" to our democracy.