Pascrell, 87, beat Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah for the Democratic nomination for Congress by a whopping 54-point margin, receiving 77% of the vote with more than three-quarters of ballots in.
The 14-term House member — first elected to Congress in 1996 — has been a staunch supporter of Israel, declaring last December that Israelis “have every right to protect themselves and defend themselves” in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on the Jewish state.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting me again, NJ-09,” Pascrell wrote on X after his victory.
“I will never stop fighting for our neighbors. I love New Jersey! American democracy itself is on the ballot this fall,” he said in a separate post.
Pascrell, an Army vet and former mayor of Paterson, was forced to defend his vote to approve $26.4 billion in US military aid to Israel and his insistence that any cease-fire be contingent on “freed hostages” amid a Khairullah campaign focused on opposing Israel’s war against Hamas.
Khairullah’s campaign was buoyed by Prospect Park’s sizable Palestinian American population.
The Syrian native moved to New Jersey in 1980, and aside from his mayorship, he works as an assistant principal at Passaic County Tech-Vocational Schools.
Ahead of the primary election, Khairullah posted photos on Instagram of himself alongside embattled New York “Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) — both Israel critics.
Last Spring, Khairullah claimed he was placed on an FBI terror watchlist after being denied access by the Secret Service to an Eid al-Fitr celebration at the White House.
He previously alleged that he was racially profiled after being detained at JFK Airport and questioned about terrorism after returning from a trip to Turkey.
Pascrell, the co-chairman of the Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus, received strong support from the Democratic establishment, including House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
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In September, Pascrell called on Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to resign following his indictment on federal corruption charges.
Pascrell will become the oldest member of the House of Representatives should he defeat 34-year-old Billy Prempeh, the Republican nominee for the 9th District, in November.
He would be nearly 89 by the end of his next term if re-elected.