New Jersey state Sen. Nellie Pou now has the inside track to the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), a close ally of the Jewish community who died last week, in Congress.

Pou, the Senate majority caucus chair and former chair of the legislative Latino caucus, received the support on Monday of the three Democratic county chairs in the district, making her the clear favorite to fill Pascrell’s seat. The party’s candidate will be selected by local Democratic leaders on Thursday.

Pou would be the first Latina congresswoman in New Jersey history, in a district that is 42% Hispanic. The candidate selected by party officials will appear on the November ballot against Republican Billy Prempeh and is likely to claim Pascrell’s seat in the safely Democratic district.

Pou traveled to Israel with the New Jersey State Association of Jewish Federations in 2014, and has condemned various antisemitic incidents in the state in recent years. She also voted for anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation in the state Senate and other legislation to counter hate and bias.

“Nellie came with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey to Israel in 2014 and has been a supporter of Jewish causes in Trenton,” Jason Shames, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey told Jewish Insider. “If she is indeed the nominee, we are optimistic that we will have a great working relationship.”

At a candidate forum on Monday night hosted by the New Jersey Globe, On New Jersey and the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University, Pou answered a question about continuing U.S. aid to Israel in the affirmative, although she didn’t specifically name Israel or address the situation in Gaza in her response.

“I truly believe that America needs to be a leader in the world,” Pou said. “We need to stand by our allies, and we need to stand with democracy and freedom, not dictators.”

She added that it’s “vitally important that any and all sovereign nations have a right to defend themselves,” adding that she comes from a “remarkably diverse” community “where people respect their neighbors” and that she plans to bring those values to Congress.

She invoked that diversity again when she was asked about her position on the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

“We should stand firmly together in making sure that… people have the ability to live freely and peacefully among each other,” Pou said, adding that she’d look to Democratic leadership and, should she be elected, Vice President Kamala Harris, for guidance on legislation. The House passed the bill with a solid bipartisan vote, including from the top Democratic House leaders, though many progressives opposed it.

Other candidates, including Assemblymember Shavonda Sumter and Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, have records that could raise more concerns for the pro-Israel community. Sayegh dropped out of the race hours after the Democratic county leaders endorsed Pou and didn’t join the evening forum. Assemblymember Benjie Wimberly currently rounds out the field.

Pou, Sumter and Wimberly answered the questions on aid to Israel and the Antisemitism Awareness Act in a similar manner during Monday night’s forum.

Sumter said she’s “standing with Vice President Kamala Harris, who was clear that America would support its allies,” adding that “we need a cease-fire immediately. Hostages need to be released immediately. A two-state solution for peace and humanitarian aid needs to happen.”

Sumter said she would have supported the Antisemitism Awareness Act “as we have supported fighting against hate crimes throughout my entire tenure in the legislature,” also mentioning that the Jewish community has stood with the Black community when it has been targeted.

On aid to Israel, Wimberly said he agrees with Harris that “Israel has a right to protect themselves.”

“Nobody is in favor of war, everybody wants to make sure that innocent lives aren’t being lost in any war,” he continued. “I also believe that the United States has a vested interest and a position with Israel that we’ve had… We have to support this and we also have to make sure that we protect the people with humanitarian aid as needed and bring this war to an end as soon as possible and look at a two-state solution.”

Wimberly said he’d support any legislation that counters racism and hate, referencing his own identity as an African American and what he described as the surge of hate and extremism since President Donald Trump’s election in 2016.