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Despite losing his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination last week, progressive Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was recently arrested outside an ICE facility during a protest, is likely not finished in New Jersey politics, according to political strategists from both sides of the aisle.
According to a New Jersey political insider, Baraka is likely to even be tapped by the now-Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mikie Sherrill for the lieutenant governor role, the No. 2 spot in the state.
Mayor of Newark since 2014, Baraka has garnered a reputation as a progressive. It was his arrest outside an ICE detention facility in Newark on May 9, however, that propelled him to the national stage.
Baraka filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba this month, accusing her of “false arrest and malicious prosecution” in connection with the incident.
He was one of several public officials, including Democratic Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver and Bonnie Watson Coleman, who allegedly rushed past security through the gates of the facility with a group of protesters, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security.
The U.S. attorney’s office has since dismissed the case against Baraka “for the sake of moving forward.”
Kenny Gonzalez, executive director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, told Fox News Digital that “the day that his arrest happened, [Baraka] really did become a hero of New Jersey’s Democrat Party.”
Baraka’s campaign took full advantage of the moment, even beginning to send fundraising messages to supporters while he was still incarcerated, according to Politico.
Politico reporter Matt Friedman posted a screenshot of a text message from Baraka’s campaign that reads 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.”
Gonzalez explained that “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,” said Gonzalez.
He said that though early polling had 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 is optimistic that Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, can flip the New Jersey governorship back red.
“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 that “Baraka certainly created a campaign that not only gained attention but earned an impressive result of votes on Election Day.”
Hagan credited Baraka’s success not to the Delaney Hall protest and arrest but to “his willingness to take on President Trump and his policies but also bring to the forefront issues important to the Democratic Party on 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.
On whether Democrats will be able to pull off a win in November, Hagan pointed out that over the last 32 years, New Jersey has been governed for 16 years by a Democrat and 16 years by a Republican.
“So, from a partisan perspective,” he said, “Democrats can take nothing for granted in their effort to maintain control of the governor’s office.”
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