But immigration was top-of-mind for voters in 2024 and is a centerpiece of the president's agenda, according to Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, which means Democrats willing to take a stand may benefit politically.
“There is a penalty for seeming lost and not knowing what to say about something because the Democrats haven’t found their way yet,” he said. “Voters are not rewarding hesitation. They want boldness.”
Not every Democrat in the contest to succeed term-limited Democrat Phil Murphy as governor is jockeying to the left of the president. Former state Senate President Steve Sweeney has called on the party to disavow sanctuary state policies supported by Baraka and others and “get back to listening to regular people.”