Amid speculation that Paterson Mayor André Sayegh could challenge Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) in this year’s Democratic congressional primary, a poll is currently in the field testing messaging on both candidates and assessing a hypothetical matchup between Sayegh, Pascrell, and Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-North Haledon).
The New Jersey Globe has confirmed that the poll was commissioned by supporters of Sayegh; Sayegh himself declined to comment.
Pascrell, a former assemblyman and Paterson mayor, has been in Congress for 27 years, defeating a Republican incumbent in 1996 and winning a tough Democratic primary in 2012 after redistricting put him in the same district as fellow Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Englewood). If he wins re-election this year, the 86-year-old congressman would become the House’s oldest member.
But there’s been chatter that Sayegh – currently serving his second term leading Paterson, Pascrell’s hometown and the largest city in his district – might try to deny Pascrell renomination. Sayegh notably declined to rule out that prospect when asked by the Paterson Press in December.
Pascrell has also faced some challenges at home recently stemming from the war in Gaza. The 9th congressional district in Passaic and Bergen Counties is home to a large Palestinian American community, including Little Ramallah in Paterson, and many local Arab American leaders have turned against Pascrell because he hasn’t called for a ceasefire. (Sayegh, who has not been among those to denounce Pascrell, is the son of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants.)
The poll currently in the field tests a variety of negative messages against the candidates, including a Gaza-related message against Pascrell.
“Despite the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians, including thousands of women and children, Bill Pascrell has refused to demonstrate leadership and call for an end to Israel’s bombing campaign and a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Palestine,” the poll says, before asking respondents to grade whether they’d be more or less likely to vote for Pascrell upon learning this information.
Among the other negative messaging being tested: Pascrell is “part of the problem in Washington D.C., refusing to let go of power to create room for progress”; under Sayegh’s “lack of leadership, … gun violence and crime in Paterson is out of control”; and Sumter is a “career politician who has gone to Trenton and become part of the do-nothing machine.”
The poll tests two hypothetical primary contests, one between Pascrell and Sayegh only and another with Sumter in the mix. Sumter has long been viewed as a potential successor to Pascrell, but there’s been no obvious indication that she’d be interested in running against him in a primary.
Finally, the poll tests the favorability ratings of the three potential 9th district candidates – and of Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) and First Lady Tammy Murphy, the two leading Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate race that will be on the same ballot. Kim is likely to run off-the-line in both counties in the 9th district, meaning that the strength of his performance could be crucial for any off-the-line congressional candidates running below him.