How 6 Democrats in a Consequential Governor’s Race Are Vying to Be Heard

The race for governor of New Jersey features the largest field in decades. The candidates have never been more accomplished or better funded. The results could be a bellwether for midterm congressional elections.

But first, the candidates must figure out how to make themselves heard — over each other and amid a backdrop of unmatched upheaval in Washington.

That’s a particular challenge for the Democratic contenders, who include two members of Congress, two big-city mayors and two union leaders.

“To have six Democrats, all who could pretty legitimately have a chance — that’s really rare,” said Kristoffer Shields, director of the Eagleton Center on the American Governor at Rutgers University.

All of the candidates have made clear their opposition to President Trump’s funding cuts and attempts to enact mass deportations. To stand out from the crowd, each has also tried to hone a unique message ahead of the state’s June 10 primary. Here’s how each Democrat is trying to carve a path to victory.

‘They don’t see us’

Mr. Baraka, the left-leaning mayor of Newark, describes the Trump administration’s immigration arrests as “kidnapping Black and brown people off the street.”Credit…Dave Sanders for The New York Times