BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — November 9, 2026 — Two years ago, Republicans were gaining ground in New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District, winning communities that had traditionally supported Democrats and coming within five percentage points of capturing a seat held by Democrats for decades. Last Tuesday, that momentum reversed dramatically.
Democratic Congresswoman Nellie Pou won reelection with 66.6% of the vote, defeating Republican Rosie Pino, who received 31.7%. But the districtwide margin tells only part of the story. In Bergen County, where Republicans had defeated Pou by four points in 2024, she won by approximately 24 points this year.
According to an analysis of unofficial election results published by the New Jersey Globe, the shift reached nearly every corner of the Bergen County portion of the district, including municipalities where Republican candidates had won comfortably just two years earlier.
Garfield offers one of the clearest examples. Pou carried the city by only one percentage point in 2024. This year, her advantage grew to 40 points, a 39-point improvement.
In neighboring Elmwood Park, the reversal was even more striking. Republican Billy Prempeh won the municipality by six points in 2024. Pou defeated Pino there by 25 points this year, representing a 31-point shift toward Democrats.
South Hackensack followed a similar pattern, moving from an eight-point Republican victory to a 32-point Democratic advantage.
These were not isolated results. Across Bergen County, communities that had supported Republicans either changed sides or delivered significantly larger Democratic margins than in previous elections.
Republican-Held Towns Change Sides
Some of the most notable changes occurred in municipalities where Republican support had remained relatively consistent across several election cycles.
Carlstadt, for example, gave Prempeh a 15-point victory in 2022 and a 17-point advantage in 2024. This year, Pou carried the municipality by five points.
In North Arlington, Republicans won by 12 points in 2022 and 13 points in 2024. Pou reversed that pattern with a 12-point victory.
Saddle Brook showed an even sharper change. The municipality moved from a four-point Republican advantage in 2022 to a 13-point Republican margin in 2024. In the latest election, Pou won by 14 points.
Oakland, another community with a history of Republican support, gave Prempeh a 14-point victory two years ago. Pou won it by seven points this November.
Lyndhurst also changed sides, shifting from an 11-point Republican lead in 2024 to a 13-point Democratic victory.
The changes extended to communities that had already been voting Democratic.
In Fairview, Pou’s margin increased from four points to 51 points. Lodi moved from a one-point Democratic advantage to 36 points, while Little Ferry went from three points to 38.
Cliffside Park gave Pou a 39-point victory, compared with 11 points in 2024. Rutherford moved from an 11-point to a 36-point Democratic advantage, and Edgewater increased its Democratic margin from 31 to 54 points.
Even in places where Republicans remained ahead, their margins narrowed. In Franklin Lakes, the Republican advantage fell from 31 points to 15. In Teterboro, it declined from 62 points to 43.
Taken together, the municipal results show that the change was not limited to a handful of traditionally Democratic communities. It extended into Republican-leaning suburbs and municipalities that had recently become more competitive.
How a Competitive District Became a Decisive Democratic Win
The political transformation becomes clearer when compared with the district’s recent history.
For nearly three decades, New Jersey’s 9th District was represented by Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr., who built a strong political base in Paterson and surrounding communities.
Pascrell won reelection by 34 points in 2020, but his margin fell to approximately 11 points in 2022. The district’s changing voting patterns, combined with newly drawn congressional boundaries, encouraged Republicans to view the seat as a possible pickup opportunity.
Following Pascrell’s death in August 2024, Pou entered the congressional race with less than ten weeks remaining before Election Day.
A longtime New Jersey legislator who had served in both the General Assembly and state Senate, Pou defeated Prempeh with 50.8% of the vote to his 45.9%.
That same year, Donald Trump narrowly carried the district in the presidential election, defeating Kamala Harris by approximately one percentage point.
Republicans saw an opportunity. Pou was a first-term congresswoman representing a district that had voted for Trump, and her initial victory had been considerably narrower than those of her predecessor.
The National Republican Congressional Committee identified the seat as a potential target in 2026.
Instead, Pou increased her winning margin from about five points to nearly 35, the largest Democratic improvement in a New Jersey congressional district this election cycle, according to the New Jersey Globe.
Her share of the vote rose by almost 16 percentage points, while the Republican share declined by more than 14 points.
The Shift Extended Beyond Bergen County
Although the results in Bergen County were particularly striking, the political movement was visible throughout the 9th District, which includes portions of Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties.
In Passaic County, Pou improved from a 14-point victory in 2024 to a 47-point advantage this year.
Paterson, the district’s longtime Democratic center, gave her a 75-point victory, compared with 41 points two years earlier.
In the city of Passaic, her margin increased from eight points to 54.
Wayne, which Republicans carried by seven points in 2024, voted for Pou by 12 points. Hawthorne and Pompton Lakes also moved from Republican to Democratic victories.
Hudson County recorded a similar change. Pou increased her margin from seven points in 2024 to 38 points this year.
Kearny gave her a 39-point victory, compared with seven points in the previous election. In Secaucus, her margin grew from eight points to 36.
Altogether, Pou carried 16 municipalities that supported Prempeh in 2024.
What Explains the Change?
The results raise questions about the political direction of communities that supported Republicans only two years ago.
Bergen County has long been home to a mix of Democratic strongholds, politically competitive suburbs and municipalities where Republicans remain influential. The latest results suggest that many voters who supported Republican congressional candidates in 2024 made a different choice in 2026.
Economic concerns, including housing costs, property taxes, energy bills and the cost of living, were prominent issues during the election cycle. Pou emphasized affordability throughout her campaign, presenting rising household expenses as a priority for Congress.
However, the municipal results alone cannot determine why individual voters changed their preferences.
The difference between the two elections also reflects different opponents, political conditions and levels of voter participation. Pou faced Billy Prempeh in 2024 and Rosie Pino, a Clifton councilwoman, in 2026.
Pino also ran for reelection to the Clifton City Council, narrowly securing the seventh and final seat while losing her congressional race.
In Clifton itself, Pou won by approximately 41 points, compared with seven points in 2024.
The latest results indicate a substantial change in party support, but whether that change continues in future elections remains an open question.
For Bergen County, the immediate significance is clear: municipalities that Republicans had recently carried by double-digit margins delivered victories for Pou, while established Democratic communities expanded their support considerably.
The figures remain unofficial. Provisional ballots and corrections to mail-in ballots are still being processed, and final certification may slightly change individual margins. The Bergen County municipal comparisons published by the New Jersey Globe are based on Election Day results.
Sources: New Jersey Globe, David Wildstein, November 7, 2026; Ballotpedia, New Jersey’s 9th Congressional District election results, 2024 and 2026; New Jersey Division of Elections, 2026 congressional candidate records.
By NJ RADAR Team