A landslide win in NJ raises alarms about where voters are heading

There are election results you glance at and move on from.

And then there are the ones that make you stop and say… wait a second.

The most radical person to ever be elected in this state has been elected.

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Analilia Mejia just won New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District seat in a decisive way, defeating Republican Joe Hathaway by a wide margin. And if you followed this race even a little, you know this wasn’t a typical campaign.

This was a very clearly defined platform. Expanding federal programs in a big way. A significantly higher minimum wage. Student debt cancellation. Strong, very direct positions on national and international issues. None of it was softened. None of it was walked back. It was all out there.

Socialist platform wins big with NJ voters

She’s a socialist and she put it right out there and for the burgeoning socialist movement in this country, voters just ate it all up. NJ is becoming a scarier place to be every day.

And voters still chose it, and not by a little. And that is what is so scary. Because District 11 has leaned Democratic for a long time, especially with towns like Montclair and Maplewood shaping the vote. That part isn’t surprising. But the size of the win, combined with how clearly the message was laid out, feels different.

Is this the direction of the Democratic Party?

Because this IS the new Democratic Party. It’s the same story when you look at how this campaign was run. There wasn’t much effort to move toward the middle or appeal to both sides. It was a very radical, over-the-top, leaning point of view, and it still connected with a large number of people in the district.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who ran on the Democratic ticket but whose policies may lean closer to socialist than even Phil Murphy’s, congratulated Mejia after the win and highlighted her focus on families and affordability, which clearly resonated with voters. It’s nauseating.

What this election could mean for New Jersey

Because when a candidate runs on a very defined ideology and wins by a margin like this, it usually means something is shifting, whether people want to admit it or not.

This is the Bernie Sanders of New Jersey. Buckle up, kids, cause we thought Jersey was bad before. Wait till a radical like this represents us in Congress.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.

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