>>171460, >>171461, >>171462, >>171463
Billy Prempeh @BillyPrempeh - To my supporters, friends, and every voter who has backed me since 2020: thank you.
When I launched this race, NJ-09 was written off. It was a D+16 district, and Republicans treated it like a permanent loss. I didn’t.
Since 2020, we have built something real. In 2022, I earned 41% against an entrenched incumbent and broke records. In 2024, we delivered the strongest Republican performance this district has seen in decades, falling just 3 points short of flipping NJ-09.
That did not happen because of consultants, county bosses, or backroom deals. It happened because regular people believed in a message, a vision, and a movement, and they put their names, time, and reputations behind it.
Over these past six years, I’ve seen the best of this district and the worst. I’ve taken hits from Democrats, and I’ve also faced resistance from inside my own party. I’ve dealt with political games, unnecessary obstacles, and people who smiled in public and worked against me in private. That is the truth.
I have always been accountable to the voters, not to a political class. I cannot be bought, I cannot be controlled, and I will not bend the knee just to be accepted in rooms that do not represent the people.
Here is the bottom line.
I am suspending my campaign for Congress in 2026.
This decision is not about fear. It is not about fundraising. It is not about my ability to compete. I’ve run three cycles on a shoestring budget and delivered historic gains every time. I know exactly what I’m capable of.
This decision is about a deeper problem inside the party in New Jersey.
Too many leaders have reduced winning elections to spreadsheets and stereotypes. They obsess over demographics and checkboxes while ignoring what actually wins. Ground game. Message discipline. Courage. Charisma. Strategy. A candidate whom people trust.
They think they can harvest the momentum we built, parachute in a preferred candidate, and tell the voters to fall in line. NJ-09 voters are too smart for that.
I’ve watched party insiders overlook proven results, and I’ve watched them reward connections over performance. I’ve watched them cling to “safe” choices while ignoring what the voters have already said with their ballots. And I’ve watched them pretend to support the movement in public while quietly trying to control or contain it behind the scenes.
So I’m giving the party what it seems to want. A race without me in it. And if the same people keep making the same decisions the same way, the results in 2026 will look exactly how you think they will.
But let me be clear.
This is the end of Billy Prempeh 2026. It is not the end of the movement we started.