morrisdems.org [morrisdems.org]
OMG Why Is Dark Money Trying to Buy Our CD-11 Congressional Seat??
Hi John,
If you live in CD-11, you’ve probably noticed an unprecedented number of negative or critical political ads in your mailbox, on television, and across streaming platforms.
In fact, over the past two weeks alone, spending on candidate-specific attacks has exceeded what Republicans—including campaigns and outside groups—spent opposing Mikie Sherrill in any of her two-year election cycles.
Why is this happening? And what steps can we take to ensure CD-11 is represented by someone whose primary focus is addressing the needs of Morris County (as well as Essex and Passaic), rather than being beholden to advancing national or outside interests?
National Strategic Importance of the Seat
NJ-11 is not just any district—this seat became vacant when then-Gov-elect Mikie Sherrill resigned, triggering a special election. Both parties and outside groups see control of the House hinging on retaining or flipping seats like this, so money is being poured into the contest to influence the balance of power.
Special Elections Attract Out-of-State Interests
Special elections and off-cycle contests often draw smaller, less-engaged electorates, where a few thousand voters can decide the race. In this environment, outside groups can spend millions on ads and have a real chance to sway the outcome, making it even more important for local voters to show up and make their voices heard.
National groups also like to use special elections to test messaging and influence. That means out-of-state PACs and ideological groups are more willing to spend heavily because a smaller electorate gives a bigger measurable impact per dollar.
Loopholes in Reporting Encourage Late, Opaque Spending
New Jersey currently does not require independent expenditure committees to report contributions and expenditures between the last pre-election disclosure and election day, creating a transparency gap that groups can exploit to inject last-minute money without timely disclosure.
Who Is Spending in the CD-11 Race?
There are multiple PACs and other interest groups spending both on behalf of and in opposition to several candidates.
* Malinowski leads fundraising pack in expensive NJ-11 race [[link removed]]
However, one group has outspent all others: the United Democracy Project (UDP), which has, to date, poured more than $1.45 million into mailers and ads targeting MCDC-endorsed candidate Tom Malinowski .
The scale of this spending has drawn national attention, making it a useful case study for examining why a PAC would invest so heavily in a single race, and why this particular contest may have attracted such an investment. You can read more about this at the links below:
* Pro-Israel Group Targets a Former Ally in an Early Congressional Race [[link removed]]
* Memo to AIPAC: Attacking Tom Malinowski Is No Way To Build American – or Democratic – Support for Israel [[link removed]]


* AIPAC spending against former rep it once supported as he aims to return to Congress [[link removed]]


* Ad Has Malinowski 'F...... Furious" [[link removed]]


* Race for Sherrill’s congressional seat fuels $7.1 million in spending [[link removed]]


What Is the United Democracy Project?
The United Democracy Project (UDP) is AIPAC’s independent expenditure arm. Its ads and mailers have focused on issues like immigration and portray Malinowski as out of step with local voters. They also regurgitate a debunked stock trading “scandal” from his prior time in office.
While these ads claim to highlight policy concerns, many are designed less to inform and more to influence voter perception and create doubt.
Outside groups like UDP often use emotionally charged issues to sway low-turnout elections, aiming to weaken candidates they oppose, even if the topics have little direct connection to the candidate’s record or priorities.
Why this matters: AIPAC’s involvement is unusual for a Democratic primary and signals national issue actors trying to shape future policy , not just Election Day outcomes.
* PACs also often “bundle” messaging to maximize impact. Groups may coordinate or fund ads that touch on multiple, apparently unconnected, topics because:
* They can fund attacks on several issues simultaneously without full disclosure of strategy.
* They know emotional or cultural issues (like immigration) move voters more than foreign policy in a local race.
* The ultimate goal is to elect someone supportive of their broader agenda, so the path to that goal can be indirect.
UDP’s Claims Are Not Backed Up By the Facts
The first of UDP’s two lines of attack is an intentionally misleading distortion of a 2019 vote, implying that Malinowski supports abusive immigration enforcement.
The vote it references was for H.R. 3401, an emergency humanitarian aid bill responding to a crisis at the southern border seven years ago. It provided $4.6 billion in total funding, overwhelmingly for food, medical care, shelter, and assistance for migrant children and families.
The funding came with oversight and was meant to address urgent humanitarian challenges at the border, not to expand detention, deportations, or any of the unacceptable practices we are seeing with ICE today.
The vast majority of democrats, including Mikie Sherrill, Andy Kim, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, voted in favor of this bill.
In reality, Malinowski has a consistent record of supporting the human rights of migrants and refugees, and of opposing ICE abuses. He was outspoken in defense of immigrants, including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, during the first Trump term, even though he represented a Republican leaning district.
Malinowski has called for reining in ICE, including by defunding its mass deportation operations, requiring warrants for every arrest, prohibiting the use of masked agents, and ending private, for-profit detention.
The second claims Malinowski “cashed in on Covid” and implies he made millions from insider stock trading during his time in Congress. This is a lie.
In actuality, Malinowski has been a leader in pushing to ban stock trading by members of Congress and strengthen ethics rules. He was one of the only members in Congress to establish a blind trust so he would have no knowledge of where or how his money was being invested. He didn’t hide anything, he followed the law, and he supported reforms to make Congress more accountable. Additionally, the Office of Congressional Ethics found no unethical behavior in the case UDP is misrepresenting. [[link removed]]
So What Can YOU Do?
The most effective way we can push back against outside money in our district is simple: show up and vote for the candidate of your choice. Outside groups flood races like ours because they’re betting on low turnout, where a small electorate can be swayed by heavy ad spending. High participation changes that math. When more people in the district vote, each outside dollar has less influence, attack ads matter less, and the outcome reflects the community, not national interests trying to claim the seat .
We don’t have to match outside money to defeat it; we just have to outvote it.
THE CD11 SPECIAL ELECTION
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Just 8 days until the CD11 Special Primary Election - Thursday, Feb 5.
Early Voting Locations Polling Locations [[link removed]] Drop Box Locations
GOTV Packet Pickup with Tom Malinowski and Congressman Jason Crow [link removed] [[link removed]]
The February 5th Special Primary Election is just a week away and it's time to get out the vote for Tom Malinowski! Join Tom Malinowski and special guest Congressman Jason Crow to pick up a packet for the final push this weekend!
Address will be provided upon RSVP.
SIGN UP! [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Get Out The Vote with Tom Malinowski and Special Guest Senator Andy Kim!
Join Tom Malinowski and special guest Senator Andy Kim for the final push this weekend! All you need is a charged smart phone and your walking shoes- our team will handle the rest! for the final push this weekend!
SIGN UP! [[link removed]]
Montville Meet and Greet [[link removed]]
Join your neighbors in Montville to meet Tom and hear about his vision for protecting our democracy in Congress, Saturday, January 31, at 1:30 – 3:30pm.
SIGN UP! [[link removed]]
Volunteer with Team Tom!
The February 5th Special Primary Election is approaching quickly and Team Tom is working to talk to as many voters as possible. Join us to speak to your neighbors about why you're supporting Tom to replace Mikie Sherrill in Congress.
MAKE CALLS! [[link removed]] KNOCK DOORS! [[link removed]]
THIRD ANNUAL ART OF POLITICS
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Join us for our exciting second annual photo exhibit featuring the extraordinary work of award-winning photographer John Hester. Enjoy light refreshments and meet the photographer.
Professional photographer John Hester has spent time on the campaign trail and at fundraising events, capturing the excitement of Morris County Democrats! All are invited to a special exhibit of his work on Saturday, Feb. 21, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., featuring photos of volunteers, party leaders, and our amazing elected officials.
RSVP today! There is a $10 Suggested Donation.
RSVP [[link removed]]
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DONATE [[link removed]]
morrisdems.org [morrisdems.org]

Morris County Democratic Committee
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Morristown, NJ 07960
United States
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