Democrat Nellie Pou, Republican Billy Prempeh vying for late N.J. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.'s 9th District seat
PATERSON, N.J. -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. died in office back in August as he was running for reelection. The 87-year-old Democrat was first elected to Congress in 1997.
Now, for the first time in decades, his name won't be on the ballot.
CBS News New York's Christine Sloan has more on the Democrat and Republican running for his seat.
Getting to know candidates Nellie Pou and Billy Prempeh
The late Pascrell was a fixture in the 9th Congressional District, which covers nine towns in Passaic County, two in Hudson County, and 24 in Bergen County.
"I would probably follow whoever took his place," Rutherford resident Frankie Bird said.
State Sen. Nellie Pou is the Democrat chosen to replace Pascrell on the November ballot. She has been in the Legislature for 28 years, and, if elected, would be the first Latina to represent the Garden State in Congress.
"I am proud of my heritage. I am proud of where I come from or where my parents come from, I should say," Pou said. "But I also want to let everyone know that I will be representing everyone.
"My approach is finding ways for solution, not looking for problems or creating chaos. My opponent and the Trumpsters only believe, um, in creating problems," Pou added.
Pou's Republican challenger is Billy Prempeh. He's a network engineer and the son of immigrants from West Africa's Ghana.
"I think what the Democrat Party has forgotten is they look at people from the Arabic community, the Black community, the Spanish, the Israeli ... I don't look at people that way. I look at people as Americans because that's what we all are," Prempeh said.
Where they stand on the issues
Prempeh, a U.S. Air Force veteran, is a staunch supporter of Donald Trump in a mostly Democratic district. His headquarters are surrounded by photos of the former president.
"When I saw what he was doing, a regular person here from Paterson, seeing how much violent crime is happening in our community, how we've been neglected for the past 27 years with the same Democratic leadership, I felt that if Trump could come out of nowhere and pull this off, I could in the 9th District," Prempeh said.
Ralston Moore is the co-owner of a Jamaican restaurant in the district. The city of Paterson, which has been battling crime and has a police department that is under state control, sits across the street from his business.
"We are on the border line. It's a very big concern to us that we feel safe when we're here and taking care of our customers. Our customers also feel safe," Moore said.
Pou and Prempeh both grew up in Paterson. Prempeh said bail reform is partly to blame. He said of his plan, if elected, "As congressperson in Washington D.C., I have access to those federal resources to help our community, so we can deal with these crimes. Our police officers need it, too."
Pou said she supports resources to police, but wants to make sure law enforcement is properly trained.
"The number one issue is making sure that the community feels that they have full confidence in our law enforcement," Pou said.
The war between Israel and Hamas is also a big issue. Paterson has a large Arab-American population, including many Palestinians. There's also a sizable Jewish population in all the counties in the district.
Prempeh says failed Democratic policies led to the war.
"I am in favor of stopping ... not sending money to support this war," Prempeh said when asked if he's in favor of a ceasefire.
"I believe it's important for us to have the return of the hostages. I believe strongly they should be returned unharmed and I strongly believe there should be an immediate pause in terms for what's happening in Gaza," Pou said.
Where they stand on a woman's right to choose
"I'm a Christian and I don't support abortion, but at this point it's a state issue and I have no intentions of pushing for a federal ban because I feel the federal government has too much control," Prempeh said.
"No one should get in the way of woman's ability to decide for herself and that of her doctor on what to do with her own body. That's non-negotiable in my opinion," Pou said.
