Going to Congress hasn’t been as fun as Nellie Pou probably intended, Save Jerseyans.
The veteran Democrat state legislator thought she had nabbed a cushy career-capping position after winning the primary to succeed the late Bill Pascrell in NJ-09. Then Election 2024 dashed any delusions concerning a free ride. Donald Trump carried the formerly reliably blue district by a single point and Pou won a full term by only a few points against a Republican nominee with no money. NJ-09 shifted 20-points towards the GOP between 2020 and 2024.
To make matter worse? Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh announced on Wednesday that he’s not ruling out a 2026 primary challenge to the incumbent congresswoman.
Sayegh is likely looking at her fundraising and seeing what there is: weakness.
Pou raised only $251,113 in the first quarter of 2024, 70% of which came from leadership PAC contributions as opposed to large or small individual donors and 57% originated outside of the Garden State. More than half of the money she spent went to… catering. Q2 was worse. Pou posted only $235,828 and reported only $780,000 cash on hand. By contrast, Tom Kean Jr. (R, NJ-07) raised $931,676 in Q2 and boasted a warchest with $1.5 million.
So what’s up? Is she really THIS bad at the job?
Or is the nearly 70-year-old politician who entered the Assembly in 1997 thinking about hanging it up and retiring from the U.S. House after a single term?
She’s got a little time to decide, but her fundraising alone should be enough to fuel speculation and – hopefully – attract a strong Republican challenger to the race.
