Billy Prempeh has endorsed Tiffany Burress for the 9th congressional district seat he once sought no fewer than four times, siding with the local Republican leaders he had previously derided.
Prempeh, who was the GOP’s nominee for the Paterson-based district in 2020, 2022, and 2024 and who had planned on running for the seat once again before dropping out last December, said in a social media post over the weekend that Burress, an attorney and first-time candidate, is “not an insider” and will be willing to challenge the North Jersey status quo.
“She’s not tied to the usual political machinery, and I like that,” Prempeh said. “She sees the nonsense in our government clearly, and more importantly, she wants to correct it and lead this district in a genuinely positive direction.”
When Prempeh ended his campaign late last year, he made no secret of his distaste for local GOP leadership, saying that “it’s a cool kids’ club, and they don’t want Billy in it.”
Those same party leaders, however, are now supporting Burress in her Republican primary contest against Clifton Councilwoman Rosie Pino. Just a few hours after Burress launched her campaign, Passaic GOP Chair Peter Murphy, Bergen GOP Chair Jack DeLorenzo, and Hudson GOP Chair Jose Arango released a joint statement endorsing her candidacy, likely guaranteeing her party support in all three counties and making her the favorite for the nomination.
Prempeh also attacked both Burress and Pino in his exit announcement, calling the former a “carpetbagger from outside of the district” (Burress lives in Totowa, which is in the 11th congressional district) and the latter a “councilperson that is well-hated within their own city.” But he’s since changed his tune on Burress, saying on Saturday that she “has the perspective, temperament, and focus” needed to win the district.
With Prempeh, who had a devoted following among some Passaic and Bergen Republicans, now on her side, Burress has likely locked Pino out of one potential avenue for claiming the 9th district nomination. As last week’s special Democratic primary in the 11th district shows, party support is far from determinative in the modern era of New Jersey politics, but Pino will also have little money to get her message out, ending 2025 with just over $40,000 on-hand. (Burress, who entered the race in the new year, has not yet released any fundraising numbers.)
The winner of the Republican primary will go on to face Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), who defeated Prempeh 51% to 46% in 2024 to earn her first term in Congress. The 9th district’s vote for Donald Trump that year put Pou at the top of many GOP target lists, but the district has seemingly swung back towards Democrats since then, voting for Mikie Sherrill by nearly 20 points last year.
