Pou will join race for Pascrell seat

State Sen. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), a 27-year veteran of the state legislature,  is entering the race for Congress, opening the door for New Jersey to send a Latina to Washington for the first time.

Democrats in the 9th district have until next Thursday to pick a candidate to replace Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-Paterson) on the general election ballot.  Pascrell died yesterday at age 87 while seeking re-election to a 15th term in the House.

“I contacted Chairmen John Currie (Passaic), Paul Juliano (Bergen) and Craig Guy (Huson) to express my interest in submitting my name for consideration for Congress,” Pou told the New Jersey Globe.  “I think it would be a good opportunity for me to share my voice.”

The 9th district is 42% Hispanic, 38% White and 8% Black, and Pou, at least so far, is the only Hispanic candidate to emerge in what will be at most a one week campaign to pick a new nominee in a Democratic-leaning district.

Pou has chaired the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus for eighteen years. 

Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson) and Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson) announced their candidacies earlier today.  Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh is also mulling a congressional run, and Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Silna Zur is returning from a trip to California late this evening and will confer with party leaders on Friday.

Pou served in the State Assembly from 1997 to 2012, when she left to take her seat in the State Senate.  She is a former Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair and is now the Senate Majority Caucus Chair and Commerce Committee Chair.

A retired Paterson city employee and longtime Pascrell ally, Pou served a Paterson business administrator from 2014 to 2018.

This is an insider election with little input from voters: the county committee members from the 9th will pick the Democratic candidate to replace Pascrell and take on Republican Billy Prempeh, a U.S. Air Force veteran.