Upon the resignation of his father, Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) recently became New Jersey’s only Hispanic member of Congress; he’s hoping that doesn’t remain true for long.
In the ongoing, fast-moving race for the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson)’s seat, Menendez has endorsed State Sen. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), who has chaired the New Jersey Legislative Latino Caucus for almost two decades.
“I believe Nellie Pou – who also succeeded Bill Pascrell in the New Jersey Assembly in 1997 – is the right person for the job and she has my full support,” Menendez said in a statement. “She has the experience to get to work on Day One and it’s about damn time New Jersey sends a Latina to Congress.”
Pou is the only Hispanic candidate currently in the race for the 9th district, a Passaic and Bergen County district that’s plurality Hispanic. Also in the race are Assemblymembers Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson) and Shavonda Sumter (D-North Haledon) and Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, and other candidates are still looking at the race as well.
The race won’t be decided by voters; rather, Democratic county committeemembers from across the 9th district will meet this coming week to decide on a new nominee. That means endorsements like Menendez’s could be especially impactful – particularly among the district’s Hudson Democratic committeemembers, who make up around 10% of the district.