{"id":10038,"date":"2026-02-18T16:29:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?p=10038"},"modified":"2026-02-18T16:29:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T21:29:45","slug":"a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"A Stunning Upset in the Primary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

EDITORIAL<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BY DHIREN SHAH<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hello Readers,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was special primary election to get closer to filling the empty congress seat of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. The 11th District, which includes a bit of the Local Talk area, is a huge democratic stronghold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Malinowski was previously a representative in Congress from 2019 to 2023. He was the favorite to win the Democratic Primary. However, he lost against Progressive activist Analilia Mejia by under 1,000 votes. After a few days, Malinowski conceded to Mejia, who was backed by figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 11th District consists of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties. Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway won the Republican Primary, and will compete against Mejia, where she is expected to win a special general election on April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right after winning the gubernatorial race, Sherrill stepped down from her congressional seat. How Mikie Sherrill will work as Governor is still on the people\u2019s mind. Let\u2019s see how things turn out under another 4 years under the Democratic rule. I hope she will work for the people rather than the political leaders. The special election winner will be there until at least January 2027, when Sherrill\u2019s term expires and if elected in the general special election. The seat will be up for another two-year term in the traditional November midterm election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nation has been captivated by the Feb. 1 kidnapping of Savannah Guthrie\u2019s 84-year-old mother Nancy. Savannah is a very well-known newscaster and co-host of the \u201cToday Show.\u201d While Savannah and her siblings have offered to pay the ransom, there has been little communication from the kidnapper(s). On Feb. 10, the FBI released a masked person photograph. The whole country, including President Trump, who has clashed with Savannah in interviews, are hoping for Nancy Guthrie\u2019s safe return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Super Bowl 60 this past Sunday was not so exciting. It was a one sided game. The Seattle Seahawks dominated the game, especially with their defense. The first three quarters of the game was controlled by the Seahawks\u2019 defense. Finally, in the last minutes, the New England Patriots started playing better, but it was too little and too late. The final score was 29 to 13. I was expecting a tight game, but it was a blow out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Trump has come out against the Gordie Howe Detroit-Canada bridge, which will help both countries, especially with negotiations. The bridge contract was done between Canada and the US in 2018 and the construction started in 2020. As a businessperson, Trump might be right that we are spending more money, but with less control. Still, it was done with the previous administration and it will help both countries, especially the working class. It will be very easy to go back and forth from the US to Canada via Detroit. Trump wants the US control half of the bridge until the money the US spent is recovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a wonderful week. I\u2019ll talk to you next week.  <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EDITORIAL BY DHIREN SHAH Hello Readers, There was special primary election to get closer to filling the empty congress seat of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. The 11th District, which includes a bit of the Local Talk area, is a huge democratic stronghold. Tom Malinowski was previously a representative in Congress from 2019 to 2023. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nA Stunning Upset in the Primary -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Stunning Upset in the Primary -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EDITORIAL BY DHIREN SHAH Hello Readers, There was special primary election to get closer to filling the empty congress seat of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. The 11th District, which includes a bit of the Local Talk area, is a huge democratic stronghold. Tom Malinowski was previously a representative in Congress from 2019 to 2023. […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T21:29:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T21:29:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dhiren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dhiren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dhiren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f69131e831675efd4ba4b98f969b1447\"},\"headline\":\"A Stunning Upset in the Primary\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-18T21:29:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-18T21:29:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\"},\"wordCount\":495,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Editorial\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\",\"name\":\"A Stunning Upset in the Primary -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-18T21:29:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-18T21:29:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f69131e831675efd4ba4b98f969b1447\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Stunning Upset in the Primary\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"A Household Name Since 2000\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f69131e831675efd4ba4b98f969b1447\",\"name\":\"Dhiren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02ccf560a84ce57bf8c0a8aab93f554ef5dacb18a99fa1dba61de74b6cbf1c9a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02ccf560a84ce57bf8c0a8aab93f554ef5dacb18a99fa1dba61de74b6cbf1c9a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02ccf560a84ce57bf8c0a8aab93f554ef5dacb18a99fa1dba61de74b6cbf1c9a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dhiren\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/dhiren\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Stunning Upset in the Primary -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Stunning Upset in the Primary -","og_description":"EDITORIAL BY DHIREN SHAH Hello Readers, There was special primary election to get closer to filling the empty congress seat of New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. The 11th District, which includes a bit of the Local Talk area, is a huge democratic stronghold. Tom Malinowski was previously a representative in Congress from 2019 to 2023. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-18T21:29:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-18T21:29:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Dhiren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dhiren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/"},"author":{"name":"Dhiren","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f69131e831675efd4ba4b98f969b1447"},"headline":"A Stunning Upset in the Primary","datePublished":"2026-02-18T21:29:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T21:29:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/"},"wordCount":495,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg","articleSection":["Editorial"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/","name":"A Stunning Upset in the Primary -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-18T21:29:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-18T21:29:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f69131e831675efd4ba4b98f969b1447"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Dhiren-Shah-2023-294x450.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/a-stunning-upset-in-the-primary\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Stunning Upset in the Primary"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/","name":"","description":"A Household Name Since 2000","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f69131e831675efd4ba4b98f969b1447","name":"Dhiren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02ccf560a84ce57bf8c0a8aab93f554ef5dacb18a99fa1dba61de74b6cbf1c9a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02ccf560a84ce57bf8c0a8aab93f554ef5dacb18a99fa1dba61de74b6cbf1c9a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/02ccf560a84ce57bf8c0a8aab93f554ef5dacb18a99fa1dba61de74b6cbf1c9a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dhiren"},"url":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/author\/dhiren\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10040,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10038\/revisions\/10040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localtalkweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}