Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter (D-North Haledon) ended her campaign for the 9th congressional district this afternoon, further winnowing the Democratic field for the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson)’s seat ahead of Thursday’s convention.
“48 hours does not give me enough time to really get to know the decision-making county committee members from the three counties,” Sumter said, referencing the extremely fast schedule on which the contest for Pascrell’s seat has had to operate. “I remain humbled by the early support. At this time, due to statutory time constraints, I am suspending my campaign.”
After Pascrell died last week, Sumter was one of four candidates who quickly entered the race, alongside Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, State Sen. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), and Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson). Other candidates, including several from the Bergen County portion of the district, took a hard look at running, too.
But over the weekend, Democratic county leaders from the three counties in the 9th district met to hash out a compromise, and landed on Pou – who would be the plurality-Hispanic district’s first Hispanic member of Congress – as their choice. In Bergen County, their backing seems to have trickled further down as well, with all 23 Democratic municipal chairs from the 9th district’s Bergen towns endorsing Pou today.
That strong show of support for Pou left the other three contenders at a disadvantage heading into the August 29 convention, where Democratic county committeemembers from Passaic, Bergen, and Hudson Counties will conduct a secret-ballot vote to determine a new Democratic nominee for the seat.
Bowing to that reality, Sayegh ended his campaign yesterday; Sumter stuck it out through a New Jersey Globe candidate forum last night, but decided today to also head for the exit. As of now, Wimberly is the only candidate still in the race to challenge Pou.
If Pou gets the nomination and wins in November, though, there will be a newfound opportunity to win her Senate seat. Sayegh, Sumter, and Wimberly would all likely consider running in the January 2025 convention to replace her, and any of them winning would in turn lead to a new vacancy to be filled.