Bill Pascrell Wins NJ-9 Election, AP Says; Billy Prempeh Stays In Race

Last updated at 11:33 p.m.

NORTH JERSEY — Rep. Bill Pascrell has been re-elected to New Jersey's 9th Congressional seat, according to the Associated Press.

The AP declared Pascrell the victor at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, even with only 18.52 percent of the expected vote tallied. Pascrell, a Democrat, received 24,126 votes in the heavily blue district as of 10:15 p.m., while Republican challenger Billy Prempeh held 11,045 votes.

Results will remain unofficial pending certification.

But Prempeh didn't concede, telling supporters "this is far from over."

"We saw what was happening at some of the polls, the electioneering," Prempeh said. "We've got our attorneys working on it, and I believe we'll be able to correct this course."

It wasn't immediately clear what Prempeh was referencing at the polls. Prempeh referred to deceased individuals and voters who moved out on the voter rolls as an issue needing correcting.

But voter fraud in such cases is "extremely rare, according to a 2020 study from Stanford University's Institute for Economic Research. Stanford political scientists analyzed more than 4.5 million voter records from the state of Washington for evidence of ballot fraud from deceased individuals but only found 14 cases in which a ballot may have been stolen and submitted on behalf of someone dead.

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The race also featured Libertarian Sean Armstrong and the Socialist Workers Party's Lea Sherman.

Below are the results that will be updated throughout the night:

(0 of 416 precincts reporting, 31.41 percent of the expected vote)

• Sean Armstrong: 888
• Bill Pascrell: 65,107
• Billy Prempeh: 56,633
• Lea Sherman: 850

Pascrell has been a House representative since 1997, first representing the 8th District before 2010 redistricting shifted him to the 9th. Democrats have represented the 9th District since 1983.

Prempeh secured the Republican nomination for the second straight 9th District election. Pascrell won the 2020 contest with 65.8 percent of the vote, while Prempeh secured 31.9 percent of votes.