Despite losing his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination last week, progressive Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was recently detained at a protest outside an ICE facility, is unlikely to be done with New Jersey politics, according to political analysts on both sides of the aisle.
According to a New Jersey political insider, Baraka is expected to be selected by now-Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill for the position of lieutenant governor, the state’s second highest ranking position.
Since becoming mayor of Newark in 2014, Baraka has established himself as a progressive. His arrest outside an ICE detention facility in Newark on May 9 elevated him to global prominence.
Baraka filed a lawsuit against Alina Habba, the United States Attorney for New Jersey, this month, accusing her of “false arrest and malicious prosecution” in connection with the event.
He was one of several public officials, including Democratic Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman, who allegedly pushed past security into the facility’s gates with a group of demonstrators, according to Department of Homeland Security authorities.
The United States Attorney’s Office has since dropped the prosecution against Baraka “for the sake of moving forward.”
According to Kenny Gonzalez, executive director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, “the day that his arrest happened, [Baraka] really did become a hero of New Jersey’s Democrat Party.”
According to Politico, Baraka’s campaign capitalized on the opportunity, began to send fundraising communications to supporters while he was still detained.
Politico reporter Matt Friedman shared a screenshot of a text message from Baraka’s campaign that said in all caps “RAS BARAKA HAS BEEN ARRESTED” and “Ras was at Delaney Hall today demanding entry into the ICE detention center where Trump and MAGA extremists are illegally detaining people.”
The message went on to say, “Ras is ready to do whatever it takes to stop Trump and protect New Jerseyans from his extreme agenda. We need you with us now more than ever. Donate now.”
According to Gonzalez, “almost every Democrat elected official, including all of his primary opponents for governor, came out against what had happened, calling it some sort of injustice and saying that it was wrong.”
“I do believe that we were correct in predicting that this stunt would actually boost him, and it really did,” Gonzalez told the audience.
He stated that, despite early polling showing Baraka in a distant third place, the Newark mayor’s performance, coming in second with 20.6% of the vote, “was really the big news of the night.”
“Mikie Sherrill spent millions and millions more dollars than he did. So it’s no surprise that she emerged as the primary winner. But Ras Baraka was a distant third place, and he came in second,” said Gonzalez. “So the stunt definitely boosted him, and I think to this day he remains very, very popular among the Democrat Party.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Mikie Sherrill picks Ras Baraka to be her lieutenant governor candidate,” he said.
“He put up a formidable performance, and he’s an African-American politician who has very deep ties to many urban communities,” he went on. “Mikie Sherrill couldn’t even win her own home county. So I think she should probably pick somebody who did.”
Gonzalez believes Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who has received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, will be able to turn New Jersey red again.
“What Ras Baraka did was he failed to fulfill his responsibility as mayor of Newark … he put illegal immigrants over Newark citizens,” he said. “There are so many other issues that New Jerseyans face, such as high property taxes, unsafe neighborhoods, a school funding formula that hasn’t worked in many years. So I believe that commonsense voters think that Ras Baraka should have focused his campaign a little bit more on that.”
Meanwhile, Kevin Hagan, a New Jersey Democratic political strategist and advisor, told Fox News Digital, “Baraka certainly created a campaign that not only gained attention but also earned an impressive result of votes on Election Day.”
Hagan attributed Baraka’s victory not to the Delaney Hall protest and arrest, but to “his willingness to take on President Trump and his policies while also bringing to the forefront issues important to the Democratic Party such as education, affordability, and quality of life in the state.”
Hagan said that based on how well Baraka ran his campaign, he should “certainly” at least “be considered as a potential candidate.”
“But what’s important now is the Sherrill campaign and the congresswoman deciding on who is best to be her partner, to see the campaign’s way to victory in November, but more importantly, a partner to govern in January,” he said.
In terms of whether Democrats will be able to win in November, Hagan noted that New Jersey has been controlled by a Democrat for 16 years and a Republican for 16 years in the previous 32 years.
“So, from a partisan perspective,” he said, “Democrats can take nothing for granted in their effort to maintain control of the governor’s office.”