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2026 candidates we're tracking in NJ-9
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Nelida Pou
Democratic
Incumbent
Nelida 'Nellie' Pou is the sitting U.S. Representative for this district, sworn in January 2025 as the first Latina from New Jersey in Congress, serving on Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security, per her official House biography. She served as a state senator for the 35th District from 2012 after entering the Assembly in 1997, and spent over 40 years working for the City of Paterson, including as Business Administrator.
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Rosie Pino
Republican
Rosie Pino is a Clifton city councilwoman, educator, and former U.S. Treasury bank examiner who served two terms on the Clifton Board of Education before winning a council seat in 2018 as the first minority elected to Clifton's council, per her campaign site. Born in the Bronx to Ecuadorian immigrant parents, she earned a GED and a Rutgers finance degree while raising a family. She won the June nomination by 366 votes, per the New Jersey Globe.
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Terrisa Bukovinac
Independent
Terrisa Bukovinac is an anti-abortion activist on the certified list with the slogan Save Our Babies; her certified address is in Tennessee, per the New Jersey Globe.
About this race
New Jersey's 9th Congressional District elects one member of the U.S. House of Representatives to a two-year term. Every House seat in the country is on the ballot in 2026. The New Jersey primary is Tuesday, June 2, 2026, and the general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.