Who's In the Race

The race for New York's 9th Congressional District seat is between Democratic incumbent Yvette Clarke and Republican challenger Joel Anabilah-Azumah. Clarke has represented the district since 2013, before which she served on the New York City Council from 2000 to 2007 and represented New York's 11th Congressional District in Congress from 2007 to 2013. Anabilah-Azumah is the founder and owner of TransportAzumah, a New York City-area bus company. ​

What They Stand For

Clarke has supported affordable housing policies and has advocated for keeping Brooklyn affordable, including measures to reduce rents in subsidized housing and expand rental assistance. She has also supported Medicare for All, saying affordable health care should be a right, not a privilege, according to her congressional biography. Clarke has advocated for immigrant rights, saying the country's policies should "empower those looking to become part of the American dream," and has supported protections for DACA recipients and immigrants facing deportation, per her campaign website. Clarke allso supports regulating artificial intelligence and technology to protect people's rights and privacy, and her congressional biography highlights legislation addressing malicious deepfakes and transparency in political AI-generated ads.

Anabilah-Azumah says he opposes the outsourcing of government functions to AI, saying, "Humans must be in charge of governing other humans at all times," according to 2026election.com. He has opposed high property taxes and onerous regulations on property owners, stating, "Property ownership should not be punished by the government with high taxes or onerous regulations," also per 2026election.com. He has called for staying out of what he describes as unnecessary foreign conflicts, saying, "I will resist all attempts to drag the United States into unnecessary and unwinnable military conflicts," and has supported raising the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour as well as a 12-year maximum term limit for members of Congress.

The Money Behind the Race

Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show Clarke raised about $1 million through June 30 and had about $31,000 in cash on hand, with about $96,000 in debt. Anabilah-Azumah had no receipts, no cash on hand, and no debt on file with the FEC.

Outside groups spent about $290,000 in the race as of Oct. 8, all of it supporting Clarke. Think Big, an outside committee, accounted for nearly all of the outside spending.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

The Cook Political Report rated the race "Solid Democratic" as of Sept. 25; Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it "Solid Democratic" as of Sept. 29; and Inside Elections rated it "Solid Democratic" as of Oct. 2. Kalshi traders gave Democrats, whose nominee is Clarke, a 95.43% chance of winning as of Oct. 8.

Clarke won the district in both 2022 and 2024, while statewide, Democrats held 18 of New York's 26 U.S. House seats after 2022 and 19 after 2024. In the 2024 presidential race, Democrat Kamala Harris carried New York with about 55% of the vote.

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