The Republican primary for the 9th congressional district has turned into an internecine squabble in the Hudson County GOP, with the county Republican chairman and one of the party’s municipal chairs battling over who to support.
When attorney Tiffany Burress launched her campaign for the Democratic-held district in January, she immediately announced endorsements from the district’s three GOP chairmen, among them Hudson GOP Chair Jose Arango. Since Hudson Republicans don’t hold full conventions, Arango’s endorsement, and a subsequent meeting of the GOP executive committee, were enough to secure Burress official party backing.
This morning, however, Kearny GOP Chairman Sydney Ferreira – whose town is one of just two Hudson municipalities in the 9th district, along with Secaucus – accused Arango of bypassing the proper process for endorsing a candidate. Ferreira said he’ll instead support Burress’s rival, Clifton Councilwoman Rosie Pino, and that the Kearny Republican Committee “unanimously” voted to do the same.
“I’ve seen articles claiming that Hudson County Republicans endorsed the other candidate, but the reality is that the 9th district only includes Secaucus and Kearny – and none of the committee members from either town were consulted or involved in that decision,” Ferreira, who came 300 votes away from winning the Kearny mayor’s office in 2023, said in a statement. “That may work in back rooms, but it’s not how it should work for the people we represent.”
Arango said that’s not true, and that it’s Ferreira who is out of line. The 9th district’s other municipal GOP chair, Secaucus’s Douglas DePice, confirmed to the New Jersey Globe that he stands with Arango and with Burress.
“[Ferreira] doesn’t have any credibility in town,” Arango said. “It’s his choice to be a joke… He’s dividing the party with these statements.”
Arango also highlighted the fact that in 2024, a group led by Pino endorsed the Democrat she’s now trying to unseat, Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon). “We can’t have somebody that endorsed Nellie Pou being the nominee,” Arango said.
Hudson Republicans aren’t ultimately a huge factor in the 9th district; two years ago, they made up around 5% of the district’s GOP primary vote. (The Paterson-based district considered safely Democratic at the time, but got added to Republican target lists after Donald Trump unexpectedly carried it in 2024.)
But similar drama has unfolded in Bergen County, where a majority of the district’s GOP electorate lives. Burress announced support from Bergen GOP Chair Jack DeLorenzo on her launch day, but a rival Republican faction quickly pounced, claiming DeLorenzo had broken his own promise to wait to make an endorsement.
And indeed, when Bergen Republicans met for their convention earlier this week, it was Pino who emerged victorious, beating Burress 91 votes to 68. Burress has party support in Passaic County, where endorsements are a more top-down affair, and also has the backing of ex-9th district candidate Billy Prempeh, the GOP nominee for the seat in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
How much any of these endorsements will matter given the demise of the county line, however, is up for debate. Perhaps more important is how much money Pino and Burress will have on-hand to reach voters; Pino raised just over $250,000 during her first six months in the race, while Burress launched her campaign after the most recent filing deadline.