Photo: Amanda Brown | New Jersey Monitor
The incumbent candidate, Pou held the NJ-09 district, which includes Clifton and parts of Little Falls. The 70-year-old defeated Republican candidate Rosie Pino by a margin of 32 points. According to the New York Times, the district voted 36 points more Democratic than it did in the 2024 presidential election.
Pou represented the 35th district of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1997 to 2012 and the 35th district of the New Jersey Senate from 2012 to 2025, when she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 9th district.
In 2025, Pou faced attacks from Republicans over votes against their spending bills and immigration policies, and from progressives over a trip to Israel that was paid for by a pro-Israel lobbying group (New Jersey Monitor).
Pou secured the Democratic nomination on June 2nd, 2026, running unopposed. She joins Analilia Mejia as the newly-elected representatives from areas that include Montclair State University.
