- Republicans have their eyes on the congressional seat in District 9 that's currently held by newcomer Nellie Poe.

That district that was once a Democratic stronghold ended up going to President Trump in the last election.

And that's opened the door for GOP national leaders to make a push for CD9 to swing red.

Senior political correspondent David Cruz has more on how the race is shaping up more than a year out from the midterms.

- The ninth congressional district has been a safe Democratic seat for decades.

Bill Pasquale's legacy still looms large here.

Former state Senator Nellie Poe was the choice of Democrats to succeed the late congressman, but 2024 was a year of tumult and the district actually voted for Trump.

Poe survived, winning the seat by just five percentage points though.

National Republicans took notice and put Poe on their 2026 congressional hit list.

Republican Bill Prempa came close last year.

He thinks he has momentum.

- I think a lot of the change that's happened on this, in this district specifically, and I think it's very unique from a lot of other places in the country, it required a lot of ground game, a lot of door knocking, a lot of face-to-face conversations and advocating for people over the years that has led to this point.

- But some Republicans think Prempa may not have the momentum he thinks he has from last year.

He hasn't really raised any money and that skillset is important for the national party.

- Now that this becomes a more nationally focused race, the national Republicans are going to wanna see fundraising momentum, they're gonna wanna see organizing momentum and the fact that Prempa is a little bit, you know, slow out of the gate this time, no disrespect to him at all, means that they're maybe gonna be looking for somebody or an opportunity for somebody, there's an opening for somebody who can raise more money, for somebody who can swoop in and hit the ground running.

- Poe may still be a newbie in Congress, but she's an old hand at Jersey politics.

She knows that the GOP thinks they have an inroad into the ninth, but she insists they're reading it all wrong.

- There was a situation last year where the voters really wanted to have an opportunity to see what else was out there that can help them.

They're recognizing today that what they were promised is absolutely not what is being delivered.

- Midterm elections have not been good for Trump.

When he's not on the ballot, Republicans don't do well here.

But in order to help ensure that, Poe just raised a half a million dollars this past quarter, the most she's ever raised in a quarter.

Republicans are already behind in a district where they've had trouble recruiting.

The most recent name to surface was that of Clifton Councilwoman Rosemary Pino, founder and executive director of Latino Leaders of Clifton, who announced a run earlier this month.

Pino didn't respond to an interview request, but her primary opponent pointed out that Pino's group endorsed Nelly Poe for Congress last year.

- I find that very interesting because now this woman has decided to jump into the race, referring to Rosemary Pino, decided to jump into the race and challenge me despite the fact that she's supporting the opposition.

- So there's two candidates for you, GOP recruiters.

To find any others, you may have to come down here and look for yourselves.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

(upbeat music)