New Jersey's special Democratic primary too early to call
Malinowski was trailing Mejia narrowly as election officials continued counting outstanding mail ballots.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates South Carolina Public Radio, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
The report is credited to The Associated Press, a major wire service with established editorial standards and broad original-reporting capacity. The publishing page identifies the AP byline and carries an AP copyright notice.
- Source type — The story is attributed to the Associated Press, a major wire service.
- Author attribution — The page clearly credits The Associated Press.
- Editorial standards — The wire-service origin supports a strong expectation of fact-checking and editing.
- Transparency — The page displays an AP copyright notice and a named reporting organization.
The report gives a precise vote margin, describes the outstanding ballots and explains why the result remained uncertain. It is a concise results update with limited candidate perspectives or broader context.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article gives comparable attention to the two leading candidates and explains the counting factors affecting the result. It offers little direct candidate response or outside perspective, but the piece is a concise results report.
- Source diversity — The report relies mainly on vote-count information rather than competing sources.
- Counterarguments presented — No partisan arguments are presented; both candidates' positions are not a focus of this results update.
- Loaded language — The article uses neutral language to describe the race and vote count.
- Omitted context — The concise report provides limited broader context and no direct candidate reactions.
The report presents vote totals, counting procedures and candidate background in straightforward language without favoring either candidate.
- Language tone — The wording is factual and restrained.
- Framing — The story explains the uncertainty through the vote margin and outstanding ballots.
- Source selection — The report does not rely on partisan claims or selective quotations.
Republished with credit
Republished from NPR, with credit to the original publisher.
111 stories · 88–89 · updated Oct 11, 2026
This is NPR's own score, and this article is credited to NPR. The host score in the Source Check is South Carolina Public Radio's.
New Jersey’s special Democratic primary remained too close to call, with Analilia Mejia leading former Rep. Tom Malinowski by 486 votes as mail ballots remained outstanding. The winner will face Republican Joe Hathaway in the April 16 special election.
With more than 61,000 votes counted, Mejia led Malinowski by 486 votes, or less than 1 percentage point. Malinowski had begun election night with a sizable lead based largely on early mail-ballot results, and the margin narrowed as votes cast on election day were counted. All three counties still had mail ballots to process, and ballots postmarked by election day could arrive through Wednesday. Malinowski had led Mejia among the mail ballots counted so far in each county.
The Democratic primary winner will face Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, on April 16. The special election will determine who serves the remainder of former Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s House term, which ends next January; a separate regular election cycle for the next term is scheduled for June and November.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Malinowski in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Malinowski’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Democratic candidate in the special House primary
Democratic candidate in the special House primary
Mejia's version of this story ↗Democratic candidate in the special primary
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Senator who endorsed Malinowski
President mentioned in background on the district’s political history
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Former president whose Labor Department employed Mejia
Republican candidate for the House seat
Senator and former political employer of Mejia
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Governor whose election left the House seat vacant
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Candidate in the special Democratic primary
Representative who endorsed Mejia
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Democratic candidate in the special primary
Part of a bigger story
8 OUTLETSOutlets agree that Analilia Mejia narrowly led former U.S. Representative Tom Malinowski in the New Jersey 11th District Democratic special primary, which remained unresolved as ballots were counted. Center outlets mostly emphasize the close count and outstanding ballots, with some placing the race in a wider debate over Democratic party organizations and the party’s direction. Right-leaning outlets also focus on the narrow lead, while drawing attention to candidate backing and institutional support.
- ARTICLES
- 10
- OUTLETS
- 8
- AVG CRED
- 71
- Morristown Green · Mejia claims victory as Malinowski urges patience in bid to succeed Sherrill
- Montclair, NJ Patch · 'Too Close To Call': Mejia, Malinowski React To Premature Election Night Projections In NJ
- New York Post · NJ Democratic House primary AOC-backed candidate Analilia Mejia holds narrow lead
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