DCCC Spokesperson Eli Cousin:
“Even Republicans agree that Congresswoman Nellie Pou is a champion for hard-working New Jersey families, and that she is the best person to represent them in Congress. We appreciate the endorsement.”
Read the Globe’s reporting for yourself:
New Jersey Globe: Group led by Republican CD-9 candidate endorsed Nellie Pou in 2024
By Joey Fox | July 18, 2025
Latino Leaders of Clifton, founded by Rosie Pino, called Pou ‘the best candidate to represent us in Washington, D.C.’
- When Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino, a Republican, launched a campaign against Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) last week, she wasted no time in criticizing the first-term congresswoman […]
- But just last year, a group led by Pino was singing a very different tune. Latino Leaders for Clifton, a civic organization that lists Pino as its founder and executive director, endorsed Pou for Congress, calling the then-state senator “the best candidate to represent us in Washington, D.C.”
- “Nellie’s unwavering commitment to fighting corporate greed, ensuring affordable housing, and defending a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions reflects the core mission of Latino Leaders of Clifton: to give power back to the people,” the group’s endorsement states. “Nellie Pou has always fought for us, and now it’s time for us to stand with her.”
- Pou, who became New Jersey’s first Latina congresswoman, was one of four candidates the group endorsed in 2024; the others were Marla Saracino and Assad Mujtaba, both Republicans who lost races for county office in Passaic County, and Ed Nunez, who lost a nonpartisan race for Clifton City Council.
- It’s fairly clear, though, that Pino is the group’s leader; she promoted her founding role when she launched her campaign just last week, and the group’s website includes a “Team Pino 2024” copyright disclaimer at the bottom.
- Pino and her campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
- The group’s endorsement has already caught the eye of Billy Prempeh, the GOP nominee for the 9th district in 2020, 2022, and 2024 and Pino’s only primary competition thus far in the 2026 race. Prempeh – the Republican whom the group bypassed by supporting Pou last year – said on social media that the endorsement should make Republicans distrust Pino’s motives.
- “Only in NJ can a RINO back a Dem, then switch,” he said. “This is why people don’t trust politics.”
- The Republican primary in the 9th district remains unsettled, and given Prempeh’s early attacks on Pino, could grow ugly quite quickly. Prempeh commands loyalty among much of the 9th district Republican rank-and-file […]
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