Local Democratic leaders are set to elect state Sen. Nellie Poe to replace Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-NJ, on the November ballot on Thursday, a week after the 87-year-old congressman. died after a long hospitalization.
His expected nomination at the party’s special convention Thursday night comes after Poe won the primary endorsement of local Democratic power brokers in the state and a trio of challengers dropped out of the race this week. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy endorsed Poe on Wednesday.
“Nellie Poe is the ideal public servant to succeed Rep. Pascrell and continue her lifelong mission of building a stronger, fairer and more inclusive New Jersey,” Murphy said. said in the statement.
New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District is deep blue — Joe Biden beat Donald Trump there in 2020 by 19 percentage points — so Poe will be heavily favored to defeat Republican candidate Billy Prempeh. If elected on Nov. 5, Poe would make history as the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress from New Jersey. Across the Hudson River from Manhattan, the 9th arrondissement has a large Hispanic population.
After spending much of the summer in the hospital battling a respiratory infection, Pascrell died Aug. 21 and was remembered Wednesday at a funeral service at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in his hometown of Paterson. Poe, Murphy, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Judge Jeffries and Rep. Jamie Raskin were among the Democratic officials in attendance.
Under state election law, Thursday is the deadline for Democratic county committee members to vote to replace Pascrell. Unless local leaders act, ballots will be printed with the late congressman’s name.
Pascrell is the second New Jersey Democratic lawmaker to die in office this year. Rep. Donald Payne Jr.65, died on April 24 of a heart attack related to complications from diabetes. The third Democratic deputy, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee The Texan died on July 19 at the age of 74 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Other New Jersey Democratic incumbents have thrown their hats into the ring to replace Pascrell, a former Paterson mayor and beloved Garden State political figure. The candidates included Assemblymen Benji Wimberly and Shavonda Sumter, as well as Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh.
But Poe, 68, who has served in the New Jersey Legislature since 1997, consolidated support after securing critical endorsements from Democratic committee chairs representing the three counties that make up Pascrell’s old district: Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties.
Wimberly, Sumter and Sayegh soon left the race.
In a statement last week, Biden paid tribute to Pascrell and recalled their three-decade friendship.
“Bill was a colleague and dear friend. I had the privilege of working with him for decades on issues ranging from the Fire Grants and Safety Act to veterans’ health care, international trade, tax justice, labor unions, and more for the welfare of first responders and their families. ” said Biden.
“During our 30-year friendship, Bill has established himself as a devoted patriot, gentleman and exemplary leader,” the president continued. “A beloved bridge-builder and champion for the working class, Bill fought relentlessly to ensure their voices and needs were at the center of policy-making. “I always knew that Bill’s positions were driven by his deep conscience and conviction.”