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Freshman Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), ramping up for the most competitive campaign of her long political career, announced today that her campaign has surpassed $1 million in fundraising since the beginning of the year.

Several of Pou’s would-be opponents in both parties haven’t released any of their own fundraising numbers yet – or haven’t even entered the race at all – but Pou’s warchest has grown large enough that they’ll likely have a lot of catching up to do.

“I’m grateful for the incredible support our campaign has received, raising $1 million to keep us fighting for the people of the Ninth District,” Pou said in a statement. “Families in North Jersey are facing real challenges with the cost of living, securing good health care, and building a secure future. I’m working every day to make life more affordable, protect access to health care, and deliver real results for our communities. This support shows that our residents believe in our fight, and together we will continue to move our district forward.”

Pou, who spent nearly three decades as a state legislator in Trenton, was elected to Congress last year in the 9th district after 87-year-old Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) died late in the election cycle. Her victory was supposed to be an easy one, but a Republican surge across New Jersey held her to a 51%-46% win; she’s now one of around a dozen House Democrats representing a district carried by President Donald Trump, forcing her to build up a swing-district political and fundraising operation largely from scratch.

Two Republicans, 2024 nominee Billy Prempeh and Clifton Councilwoman Rosie Pino, have stepped up to take Pou on in 2026, but their fundraising abilities are still untested. Prempeh has raised barely $1,000 since launching his campaign – he says he was dealing with health issues for much of the spring – while Pino entered the race after the most recent filing deadline and hasn’t voluntarily announced any fundraising numbers.

(Pou had raised $854,637 as of June 30, the most recent fundraising deadline; the next reports won’t be due until October 15.)

There’s also chatter of a potential Democratic primary challenge coming from Paterson Mayor André Sayegh, who also briefly ran in last year’s convention to replace Pascrell. Sayegh has publicly criticized Pou over her stance on Israel and her handling of a water crisis in Paterson this summer, but he hasn’t taken any official steps towards a campaign.

The still-unsettled state of affairs in the 9th district contrasts with New Jersey’s other competitive congressional district, the 7th, where eight Democrats are hoping to take down Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield) in a race that’s already very much underway.

Kean, who unseated Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-Ringoes) three years ago, hit the $1-million-raised threshold a long while ago – he’d raised $1.9 million as of the last reporting deadline – and at least one of his Democratic opponents, Rebecca Bennett, may have surpassed it as well. Bennett had raised $914,000 by the end of the 2nd quarter; not too far behind her was Brian Varela, who raised $694,000, though a majority of that came from his own pockets.

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