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Regardless of shedding his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination final week, progressive Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was lately arrested exterior an ICE facility throughout a protest, is probably going not completed in New Jersey politics, in keeping with political strategists from each side of the aisle.
In accordance with a New Jersey political insider, Baraka is prone to even be tapped by the now-Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill for the lieutenant governor function, the No. 2 spot within the state.
Mayor of Newark since 2014, Baraka has garnered a fame as a progressive. It was his arrest exterior an ICE detention facility in Newark on Might 9, nevertheless, that propelled him to the nationwide stage.
Baraka filed a lawsuit in opposition to U.S. Lawyer for New Jersey Alina Habba this month, accusing her of “false arrest and malicious prosecution” in reference to the incident.
WHO IS THE DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING AT AN ICE DETENTION CENTER?
Left: Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka speaks exterior the Delaney Corridor ICE facility throughout a protest. Proper: Safety personnel stand in entrance of Delaney Corridor, a lately reopened immigration detention middle, in Newark, N.J., Might 7, 2025. (Getty Photos | AP Picture/Seth Wenig)
He was one in every of a number of public officers, together with Democratic Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver and Bonnie Watson Coleman, who allegedly rushed previous safety via the gates of the power with a bunch of protesters, in keeping with officers from the Division of Homeland Safety.
The U.S. legal professional’s workplace has since dismissed the case in opposition to Baraka “for the sake of shifting ahead.”
Kenny Gonzalez, govt director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, informed Fox Information Digital that “the day that his arrest occurred, [Baraka] actually did develop into a hero of New Jersey’s Democrat Occasion.”
Baraka’s marketing campaign took full benefit of the second, even starting to ship fundraising messages to supporters whereas he was nonetheless incarcerated, in keeping with Politico.
Politico reporter Matt Friedman posted a screenshot of a textual content message from Baraka’s marketing campaign that reads in all caps “RAS BARAKA HAS BEEN ARRESTED” and “Ras was at Delaney Corridor in the present day demanding entry into the ICE detention middle the place Trump and MAGA extremists are illegally detaining folks.”
The message went on to say, “Ras is able to do no matter it takes to cease Trump and shield New Jerseyans from his excessive agenda. We want you with us now greater than ever. Donate now.”
ICE BREAKOUT IN NEW JERSEY SYMPTOM OF DEMOCRATIC ‘CHAOS’ ACROSS THE COUNTRY, LOCAL GOP LEADER SAYS
Members of Congress at an ICE detention facility in New Jersey (X/@RepBonnie)
Gonzalez defined that “nearly each Democrat elected official, together with all of his main opponents for governor, got here out in opposition to what had occurred, calling it some kind of injustice and saying that it was flawed.”
“I do imagine that we had been right in predicting that this stunt would truly increase him, and it actually did,” mentioned Gonzalez.
He mentioned that although early polling had Baraka in a distant third place, the Newark mayor’s efficiency, coming in second with 20.6% of the vote, “was actually the large information of the evening.”
“Mikie Sherrill spent hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands extra {dollars} than he did. So it is no shock that she emerged as the first winner. However Ras Baraka was a distant third place, and he got here in second,” mentioned Gonzalez. “So the stunt undoubtedly boosted him, and I believe to this present day he stays very, very fashionable among the many Democrat Occasion.”
HOMELAND SECURITY REVEALS IDENTITIES OF THE 4 ‘PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS’ WHO ESCAPED NEWARK ICE FACILITY
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (Deirdre Heavey/Fox Information Digital)
“I would not be stunned if Mikie Sherrill picks Ras Baraka to be her lieutenant governor candidate,” he mentioned.
“He put up a formidable efficiency, and he is an African-American politician who has very deep ties to many city communities,” he went on. “Mikie Sherrill could not even win her own residence county. So I believe she ought to most likely decide any person who did.”
Gonzalez is optimistic that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, can flip the New Jersey governorship again purple.
“What Ras Baraka did was he failed to satisfy his duty as mayor of Newark … he put unlawful immigrants over Newark residents,” he mentioned. “There are such a lot of different points that New Jerseyans face, reminiscent of excessive property taxes, unsafe neighborhoods, a faculty funding system that hasn’t labored in a few years. So I imagine that commonsense voters assume that Ras Baraka ought to have targeted his marketing campaign a bit bit extra on that.”
US ATTORNEY ALINA HABBA ANNOUNCES REP MCIVER HIT WITH FEDERAL CHARGES OVER NEWARK ICE CLASH
Jack Ciattarelli (Getty Photos)
In the meantime, Kevin Hagan, a New Jersey Democratic political strategist and advisor, informed Fox Information Digital that “Baraka actually created a marketing campaign that not solely gained consideration however earned a formidable results of votes on Election Day.”
Hagan credited Baraka’s success to not the Delaney Corridor protest and arrest however to “his willingness to tackle President Trump and his insurance policies but additionally convey to the forefront points necessary to the Democratic Occasion on training, affordability and high quality of life within the state.”
Hagan mentioned that primarily based on how properly Baraka ran his marketing campaign, he ought to “actually” no less than “be thought-about as a possible candidate.”
“However what’s necessary now’s the Sherrill marketing campaign and the congresswoman deciding on who’s greatest to be her accomplice, to see the marketing campaign’s approach to victory in November, however extra importantly, a accomplice to control in January,” he mentioned.
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On whether or not Democrats will be capable to pull off a win in November, Hagan identified that over the past 32 years, New Jersey has been ruled for 16 years by a Democrat and 16 years by a Republican.
“So, from a partisan perspective,” he mentioned, “Democrats can take nothing with no consideration of their effort to take care of management of the governor’s workplace.”
