Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen will host a high-dollar fundraiser for Ras Baraka’s campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in June, marking the first major defection among Camden County away from their favored candidate, former Senate President Steve Sweeney.
The fundraiser, set for two days after the 2024 Democratic primary at a hotel on the Camden waterfront, has individual ticket prices ranging from $500 to $4,900.
Baraka, the three-term mayor of Newark, is seeking to become New Jersey’s first Black governor. He is the third announced candidate, along with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, and Sweeney.
For Baraka to win, he’ll need a huge turnout in cities like Camden, which is 53% Hispanic and 38% Black.
When Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson ran for governor in 1985, he won 57% of the Democratic primary vote in the city of Camden in a field of six candidates. In a primary where no candidate had the organization line, State Sen. John Russo (D-Toms River) carried Camden County by a 30%-27% margin over Essex County Executive Peter Shapiro; Gibson won 22% countywide.