Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka intends to run for New Jersey governor, his press secretary told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday.
In a speech at a Black History month event Monday night, Baraka signaled his intent by saying he wanted to be governor, although it was unclear if he was formally announcing.
But on Tuesday, his press secretary, Susan Garofalo, said his comment was meant to launch his campaign. “That was his announcement,” Garofalo said.
A 53-year-old in his third term as mayor of New Jersey’s largest city, Baraka has long been considered a potential contender in the 2025 race to succeed term-limited Democrat Phil Murphy. He will be the third Democrat to jump into an increasingly crowded primary next year for the party’s nomination.
If he wins the nod and then the general election, Baraka would become first Black governor in state history and would also be the first Newark mayor to hold the job.
The race to take over for Murphy is already a robust one despite the general election being 22 months away. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney are running on the Democratic side, while state Sen. Jon Bramnick is the lone Republican do declare so far. Other contenders from both parties are expected to follow in New Jersey’s first battle for an open governor’s seat since 2017.
Baraka made the announcement supporters had long been waiting for at the War Memorial in Trenton on Monday night. He was speaking during a celebration of the Devine 9, the nation’s first Black fraternities and sororities, which include Alpha Phi Alpha, Baraka’s fraternity at Howard University, and one the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other notable figures from the Civil Rights movement belonged to.
The mayor made the announcement during an impassioned 35-minute speech on the lasting impact that slavery and institutional racism have had on the economic and political standing of Black people and also spoke of his own childhood in Newark. He closed with a reference to an ancestor, imagining words of inspiration she might have said to him.
“My great-great-great-great grandmother, on her knees, with her eyes closed,” he said, crossing his arms against his chest, as he envisioned her doing. “Not knowing what tomorrow looks like, saying, ‘They’re not going to hold you down. They’re not going to hold you back. They’re not going to steal your future. They’re not going to keep your tomorrows, little Black boy from Newark, New Jersey.’”
“‘Just a kid, just a kid from Newark, and all of your weakness and feebleness, and all your humanity, that you, too, can stand here at the Trenton War Memorial and say, I want to be the governor of the United, of the State of New Jersey.’”
The audience erupted in cheers and applause.
Those in attendance Monday night said Baraka made his intentions clear.
“I was right there with him,” said Newark City Councilman Dupré Kelly, an Alpha Phi Alpha brother who was elected in 2022 with Baraka’s backing.
Baraka hails from one of Newark’s most famous families. His father is the late renowned poet and civil rights leader Amiri Baraka. The younger Baraka is a poet and author in his own right, as well as an educator who worked as a teacher and principal in the city.
Notably, he made guest appearances on two of the most acclaimed hip-hop albums of all time. He provides the spoken-word intro to 1996′s “The Score” by New Jersey group the Fugees and then played the role of a teacher on 1998′s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” the debut solo record by the Fugees’ rapper and singer.
Baraka also served two stints on the Newark City Council before being elected mayor in 2014, succeeding now-U.S. Cory Booker.
As mayor, Baraka made restoring the ranks of a depleted police department a priority, while seeking to reform the force and improve community relations as it remained under a federal consent decree to curb abuses. Baraka also sought to supplement policing with civilian violence prevention programs, for which he was recognized by former President Barack Obama.
Baraka has also made increasing Newark’s housing supply one of his main goals, revamping the city’s zoning ordinance to encourage higher density housing in an effort to create more affordable units.
In addition, he oversaw the rapid replacement of 23,000 lead service lines that contributed to contamination of Newark’s drinking water. But the state Department of Environmental Protection and the city are investigating the apparent failure of a private contractor to remove all lead components from the service lines.
Baraka is now vying for the state’s highest-ranking position in what could be a field of half-a-dozen Democrats. Political observers say he could benefit from support in both Essex County and with Black voters to distinguish himself from the field.
That Baraka and Jersey City’s Fulop are running means the governor’s race will include the mayors of New Jersey’s two largest cities.
Only three mayors have been elected governor of the state, the last was Woodbridge’s Jim McGreevey in 2002.
Newark City Council President Lamonica McIver, who was on the same Baraka-backed council slate as Kelly in 2022, was also at Monday’s event. She called the announcement “super exciting.”
“It gives so much character and charisma to the race,” McIver said.
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Steve Strunsky may reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @johnsb01.