Ras Baraka Pushes Progressive As His NJ Governor Bid Heats Up

NEWARK, NJ — When Ras Baraka announced his campaign for New Jersey governor last year, he didn’t shy away from the word “progressive.” And as a crowded Democratic primary election creeps closer, the mayor of Newark has been making his presence felt at rallies, protests and other left-leaning political gatherings across North Jersey.

Current governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, was first elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. New Jersey governors can serve unlimited terms, but not more than two in a row.

A large field of candidates are now jockeying for position to replace Murphy. A primary election will take place on June 10.

Baraka was one of the first gubernatorial candidates to announce his run for the highest office in New Jersey, breaking the news at a Black History Month event in Trenton last year.

If elected, he would be the first Black governor in the state’s history. New Jersey – one of the most diverse states in the nation – has also had just a single female governor: Christine Todd Whitman.

Learn more about his campaign platform here.

During his tenure as Newark mayor, the former teacher has launched rolled out several efforts to tackle several hot-button issues in the city, such as a lack of housing, income inequality, education gaps and policing reform.

These same issues also exist on the state level, he pointed out last February.

“We’ve come a long way since 1954 – but apparently not far enough,” Baraka said, referencing the landmark court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

“Today, New Jersey has the sixth-most segregated school district – more than half of Black and Brown students go to schools that are at least 90 percent Black or Brown,” he continued.

Meanwhile, a massive racial wealth gap continues to grow in the state, Black youth are 29 times more likely to be sent to prison, African American women are seven times more likely to die while giving birth, and banks and lenders continue to illegally avoid giving loans to people living in communities of color.

Baraka confirmed his left-leaning campaign at his annual State of the City address last year, using words like “progressive” and “transform” as he ripped into wealth inequality, pollution, segregation and housing affordability.

“They say I’m too progressive, because here we want students to vote in school board elections or same-day voting – a Civilian Complaint Review Board and IDs for undocumented residents,” Baraka said.

“The good thing is that I know they are wrong,” he added.

• See Related: Baraka Says He Will Lift 'Working People' If Elected As NJ Governor

Since launching his governor campaign, Baraka has continued to hammer on themes of inequality and social justice, releasing a plan to tackle the state’s housing crisis, blasting controversial changes to the state’s public records access laws, and cheering for the demise of the “party line” in New Jersey’s primary ballots. He is also a staunch opponent of a new ICE immigrant detention facility that is being opened in Newark – the first under President Donald Trump’s second term.

Meanwhile, Baraka has been campaigning on the protest circuit, attending rallies against expanding the NJ Turnpike, building a new power plant in Newark, and making potential cuts to the state budget.

Baraka has seen some support in the region, earning 236 votes from the Essex County Democratic Committee at their recent convention – and coming in second place to U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

A poll released by Fairleigh Dickenson University in March put Newark’s mayor near the top of the pack for Democratic contenders. According to pollsters, 78 percent of Democrats say that they’re heard of Baraka, and 43 percent of Democrats said that they have a favorable view of him – which topped the list.

“This is not the race anyone was expecting a few months ago,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at FDU, and the executive director of the poll.

“We had been expecting [U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer] to do much better, and the strong showings of [Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop] and Baraka in the progressive wing of the party has left other candidates scrambling.”

Baraka has indeed been attracting support from progressives in North Jersey, nailing down endorsements from a coalition of labor unions and advocacy groups on Thursday – a day after his birthday.

The Rutgers AAUP-AFT, 32BJ SEIU, New Jersey Citizen Action, Make the Road Action New Jersey, New Jersey Working Families Party and Workers United LDFS Joint Board each said they are throwing their support behind Baraka.

“New Jerseyans face a grave affordability crisis, with health care, utility, and in particular housing costs continuing to spiral out of control,” said Dena Mottola Jaborska, the executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action.

“Ras Baraka stands as the best choice from a field of talented candidates to address this crisis,” Jaborska said.

Ana Maria Hill, the New Jersey district director of 32BJ SEIU – a labor union representing 15,000 workers across New Jersey – credited Baraka with showing up to walk alongside their members on the picket line.

“We will have boots on the ground to get out the vote for Baraka starting this month, through to November,” Hill pledged.

Some advocates said that supporting a candidate like Baraka will help to combat “voter apathy” in a non-presidential election year.

Other advocates said Baraka is the best choice to stand up to the federal policies of the Trump administration.

“We know we need a governor who can express our outrage and articulate an alternative that works for working people in New Jersey,” said Rebecca Givan, executive vice president of the AAUP-AFT union chapter at Rutgers University.

“We’re convinced Ras Baraka can do this like no other Democratic candidate,” Givan said.

“This campaign is bigger than any one of us,” agreed Nedia Morsy, the New Jersey director of Make the Road Action New Jersey.

“Together, we represent the multi-racial working-class coalition that we must build in order to fight Trump’s MAGA agenda and envision a world for all of us,” Morsy said.

For his part, Baraka said he was “deeply humbled” by the support of some of New Jersey’s largest advocacy groups.

“To meet this moment, we must do it shoulder to shoulder,” he urged. “United — not divided — we will fight for working families, challenge entrenched power and build a New Jersey that puts people before politics.”

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