On the recommendation of the members of the NJEA PAC Operating Committee, the National Education Association has endorsed Analilia Mejia for election in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. The endorsement is for both the upcoming special election on April 16 and the general election on Nov. 3, 2026.
NJEA officers, President Steve Beatty, Vice President Petal Robertson and Secretary-Treasurer Tina Dare, expressed NJEA members’ enthusiasm for Mejia’s candidacy. “NJEA members are excited to get to work to elect Analilia Mejia because we know she will use her position in Congress to advocate for public education, for labor and for marginalized communities. She will fight for the issues that matter most to our students, our members and their families.
“We are in tumultuous times. New Jersey and America need the strong, principled leadership that she will bring to Washington, D.C. She will be a voice for her constituents in CD 11 and for unheard and underrepresented people across New Jersey and America. As proud educators and as labor advocates, we will do everything we can to help her win in April and in November and we will partner with her to advance her positive agenda in Congress.”
National Education Association President Becky Pringle highlighted Mejia’s strong stands on key education justice issues. “Analilia Mejia is a champion for America’s students and New Jersey’s working families. Analilia knows how critical it is to ensure that every student – no matter their background, race or ZIP code – has access to quality public schools. She is for expanding learning opportunities for our students and against diverting funding out of the public schools that 90 percent of our students attend into unaccountable and discriminatory private schools through vouchers. And Analilia Mejia will continue working to deliver lower costs for working families while getting things done to help students, educators and communities. That is why the National Education Association is proud to recommend Analilia Mejia in her campaign in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.”
Mejia expressed her appreciation for the endorsement and her excitement to work with educators to achieve positive change. “Education is the profession that creates all others. And as parents, the people we trust every day when we drop our kids off at school are the teachers and other essential staff who care for and guide them. As a mom, receiving the endorsement of the New Jersey Education Association is personal to me, and I’m proud of it. It’s time we uplift public education and give our schools, educators and students the resources they deserve. That means fully funding public schools, raising educator pay, stopping the abolition of the Department of Education, and ensuring every child has access to a quality education. That’s what I’m committed to, and I’m proud to stand alongside the New Jersey Education Association in this fight.”
As the daughter of immigrant parents who worked multiple jobs to provide for their family, Mejia understands the value a union job can provide for families who struggle to make ends meet. She began her career as a union organizer and became the director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance. She served as the National Political Director for Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign, worked in the U.S. Department of Labor during the Biden administration, and is currently the Co-Executive Director of Popular Democracy.
CD11 includes portions of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties. Mejia is running to fill the seat previously held by Governor Mikie Sherrill since 2018.