Scoop: Rep. Mejia launches PAC to fund progressive upsets
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Rep. Analilia Mejia at her swearing in ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on April 20. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
After winning an upset primary victory over a field of better-funded, establishment-backed rivals, Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-N.J.) is launching a super PAC to help other progressive underdogs do the same, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Mejia is adding to a growing constellation of new progressive super PACs trying to compete with cash-rich groups like AIPAC that back more moderate Democrats in primaries.
- It is all part of a strategy that has helped the left pull off a series of high-profile primary victories this election cycle over incumbents and establishment favorites.
- "We're ready to build a new class of unbought, unbossed candidates who will refuse corporate PAC money, and will stand for the values that the American people are demanding," Mejia said in a statement.
Driving the news: Mejia's group, "Unbought, Unbossed PAC," will train and fund "working-class and underrepresented community leaders" running for office, according to a press release first shared with Axios.
- It will also provide "voter education resources and voter protection training" and build "a nationwide community of candidates, organizers, and local leaders who can learn from one another and organize beyond any single election."
- "Unbought, Unbossed PAC is about finding the next generation of leaders who are already fighting for their communities and giving them the tools to run, organize, and win," Mejia said.
Catch up quick: Mejia defeated nearly a dozen Democratic primary rivals in a February special election to replace New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill in Congress.
- The former progressive organizer was outraised by five of her primary rivals, bringing in just $420,000 to the $1.2 million raised by former Rep. Tom Malinowski, who finished second.
- Mejia's victory was widely considered an upset and was inadvertently spurred, at least in part, by AIPAC spending $2.3 million against Malinowski.
What to watch: The super PAC will only support candidates who refuse to take corporate PAC money and who support banning members of Congress from trading stocks, according to the press release.
- "It's time we start uplifting your nontraditional candidates who aren't lawyers or billionaires, but everyday Americans," Mejia said.
- She added: "A Congress that looks and feels like America will better serve this nation."
