Newark Mayor Ras Baraka wins re-election to office after ICE arrest fame
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A Democratic mayor of a major city who drew national attention last year when he was arrested during an anti-ICE protest outside a federal immigration detention center is seeking re-election Tuesday.
Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka easily took 50% of the vote as he faced seven challengers in Tuesday’s election, the Associated Press reported.
Baraka will avoid a November runoff as he captured a majority of the vote as he runs for a fourth term in New Jersey’s largest city.
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Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka is seeking a fourth term to govern the state’s largest city. (Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Keith)
Although Baraka is a Democrat, mayoral elections in Newark are technically nonpartisan.
Considered one of the most progressive mayors in the country, Baraka last year opposed the reopening of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, part of President Donald Trump’s second-term crackdown on illegal immigration.
Protesters block vehicles from entering or exiting the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12, 2025. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu)
On May 9, 2025, Baraka was arrested by ICE agents outside the facility after unsuccessfully trying to join a congressional delegation on a tour of the facility.
The mayor’s arrest made national headlines.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka speaks after the Democratic gubernatorial debate at Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ on February 2, 2025. (Mike Catalini/AP)
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The charges against Baraka were dropped, and he later ran for governor, finishing second to then-Rep. Mikie Sherrill was in last year’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. Sherrill won the election as governor of New Jersey.
