The gloves have come off in New Jersey’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka unleashes a blistering television ad directly targeting self-described Blue Dog conservative Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill—the first frontal assault in what promises to be a bruising intraparty battle.
The $500,000 broadcast ad pulls no punches in painting Sherrill as a corporate-backed insider who has profited while working families struggle.
The spot opens with a damning indictment: “Mikie Sherrill let us down.”
Baraka hammers Sherrill for accepting $30,000 in campaign contributions from Elon Musk’s SpaceX—a company deeply entwined with the Trump administration—at the same time Republicans were dismantling abortion rights nationwide.
Though Sherrill later donated Musk’s dirty money to charity under pressure, the ad frames the episode as emblematic of her cozy relationship with wealthy elites.
But the most explosive charge centers on Sherrill’s personal finances. The ad accuses her of “tripling her net worth while in Congress” through lucrative stock trades, citing reports that her assets ballooned from as little as $733,000 to nearly $14 million during her time in Washington.
A fine for violating the STOCK Act is wielded as evidence of a broader pattern of self-enrichment.
“She made millions on the stock market,” the narrator declares, “while New Jersey families fought just to pay rent.”
The contrast with Baraka could not be sharper.
Where Sherrill is portrayed as a creature of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, the Newark mayor is framed as a proven leader who delivers results for working people.
“Under Mayor Baraka’s leadership, crime is down 60%, and Newark is making a comeback,” the ad boasts, positioning him as the antidote to Sherrill’s perceived opportunism.
Under Baraka’s leadership, Newark achieved a 60-year low in crime, replaced 23,000 lead service lines at no cost to residents, and reduced homelessness by 57%.
Once facing a $90 million deficit, New Jersey’s largest city now thrives with unprecedented economic growth, according to the mayor.
The closing message is a direct appeal to class resentment: “Let’s elect a governor who works for us.”
The attack marks a dramatic escalation in the primary, exposing a bitter divide between the Democratic Party’s progressive and establishment wings.
Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor, has long been seen as the near-unanimous favorite of North Jersey party bosses—but Baraka’s salvo signals he intends to run as the insurgent, unafraid to condemn what he frames as the hypocrisy of corporate Democrats.
Two weeks ago, Baraka launched a scorching attack on the Blue Dog Democrat and party bosses during a rally in her hometown, branding them “tone deaf” to the crises facing Black and Brown communities—and hinting he might not vote in the general election if Sherrill secures the nomination.
Sherrill’s camp has yet to respond, but the ad ensures one thing: the genteel veneer of New Jersey politics has been shattered.
With only weeks to go before the primary, voters should brace for a no-holds-barred fight over who truly represents the soul of the Democratic Party.