the race for the late Congressman Bill Pascrell seat has potentially triggered a larger Shuffle throughout the district and in the legislature if state senator Nellie Pou wins the ninth congressional seat this fall her seat will be open setting up a new contest to replace her in that chamber and potentially opening up yet another seat in the assembly senior political correspondent David Cruz explains for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction that's true in physics as it is in politics just ask Joe Biden, Kamla Harris or Tammy Murphy or Andy Kim in Jersey a step down for one person leads to a step up for another Congressman Bill Pascrell's death and Democrats choosing state senator Nellie Pou to succeed him on a ballot is just the latest turn of the wheel it's it's been a know very very emotional year I think for a law makers you know from back to uh lieutenant governor Oliver to you know Donald Payne to now Pascrell it's a a really a change in regard that's not not the type that you want to welcome it's not a a passing it's unfortunate that we're in this situation assembly member Benji Wimberly is trying to keep things in perspective even as he participates in the succession process first putting his name in the hat to succeed Pascrell on the ballot and now as someone who would succeed Nellie Pou were she to win the ninth congressional district seat how interested are you in that um first I'm interested in getting her elected to congress I think you know I made a commitment to her to be a team player and make sure that we work uh you know uh between now and November 5th to get the entire ticket from Harris Waltz all the way down to our County ticket Democratic ticket elected but the process of following po into the Senate something that wouldn't take place until January at the earliest a long time for most folks but a blink in the eye in the express lane that is politics that maneuvering has already begun and the potential candidates appear to be pretty much the same people who angled to replace pascrell Wimberly his assembly mate Shavonda Sumter and Paterson mayor Andre Sayegh now I see you shaking hands and you're not up for mayor uh this year are you I'm not I'm not two years two years and I'm enjoying being the mayor well you never know what the future holds right this has probably been the wackiest year in politics think about this if you David Cruz asked me on January 1st about the party line being abolished about Tammy Murphy not being the candidate about Andy Kim being the candidate Biden the president withdrawing late in the game and then of course the congressman and then this convention yeah so it's been an unconventional political year the 35th district is six towns in pic and Bergen dominated by Paterson home base for all three potential successors including assembly member shobana the Sumpter who was a favorite to succeed Pascrell until po laid surge my sense is that um things will go in sumpter's Direction and there are a couple of reasons for that chiefly because uh chairman curry made it clear before he endorsed po that he was endorsing Sumter um and so I would expect that to be the case again um he chose Sumpter over Wimberly um they both have the same level of seniority that came into the legislature at the same time um I I I think this is probably um you know sumpter's um presumptive uh nomination if she wants it if uh that opportunity presents itself I can't say yes I can't say no uh that I would not be interested again my goal is to serve our constituencies the state of New Jersey uh in the best way possible and I'm always always always humbled uh that there are some folks who see me as such a leader unlike the race to succeed pascrell which was a five-day Dash the race to succeed Pou and the lobbying and brokering that it will entail will be more of a marathon and a lot can happen between now and that finish line I'm David Cruz NJ Spotlight News [Music]