HOBOKEN -- Identity politics can backfire, experts say, if a majority of the electorate doesn't like how a candidate identifies.

But it can also be effective, whether on a municipal or national level, if most voters are sympathetic to the group a candidate identifies with, or if they simply relate to the candidate's minority or outsider status, whatever that may happen to be.

"It's a risky strategy in some ways," said Prof. Shauna Shames of Rutgers University in Camden, who studies identity politics. "But I think the risks are outweighed by the benefits."

In Hoboken's Nov. 7 non-partisan mayoral race, no fewer than four of the six candidates for mayor are taking that risk, campaigning at least in part on their identities as members of a particular group.

They include one who would be Hoboken's first openly gay mayor, another who would be the first Sikh, and a would-be first Latino mayor who is open about having been an undocumented immigrant before becoming a citizen.

The race was thrown wide open in June, when Dawn Zimmer, Hoboken's first woman mayor, announced she would not seek a third 4-year term.

Councilman Michael DeFusco said he came out as gay in college at age 21, 12 years before being elected to his First Ward council seat in November 2015. But even then, DeFusco did not talk about sexuality in the context of his campaign.

"When I first ran for council, it wasn't something that I felt the need to discuss. It was an issue-based campaign about bringing home constituent services to my district," said DeFusco, now 35, a marketing executive who lives with his longtime partner, Dr. Alejandro Hererra, a Manhattan physician. "What I found when I got to the council was that there was a lackluster advocacy for LGBT rights in Hoboken."

DeFusco noted that the city scored just 51 out of a possible 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Equality Index in 2016, with particularly low marks in the categories of "municipality as employer," "city services," and "relationship with the LGBTQ community," the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning.

The index said Hoboken did not have a human rights commission, nor an LGBTQ liaison to either the mayor's office or the police department, positions DeFusco said he would create if elected.

Councilman Ravi Bhalla's campaign web site refers to his precedent-setting 2009 election to an at-large seat: "A true believer in the American dream, Councilman Bhalla is the first Sikh to hold elected office in New Jersey."

Sikhism is a religion founded in late 15th century India by Guru Nanek Dev Ji, who was born and raised in a Hindu family. While it shares some Hindu principles, Sikhism is a distinct religion that emphasizes egalitarianism and good works. Like Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal, who was sworn-in in January, Bhalla wears a dastaar, or turban, mandatory for Sikh men and women.

"To be elected New Jersey's first Sikh mayor [would be] a milestone that tells a familiar and important American story about emerging new groups realizing the American Dream," Bhalla said in an email. "In the Trump era that's not for nothing."

But like DeFusco and his sexuality, Bhalla was careful not to let his religion define his candidacy.

"It's not why I'm running to be mayor," added Bhalla, a 43-year-old lawyer who lives with his wife and two children. "I'm a life-long New Jersey resident and 17 years resident of Hoboken who wants to serve my community. And I bring the know-how and experience to get the job done."

Mayoral hopeful Ronald Bautista, a 31-year-old native of Ecuador who has been a cycling and mass transit activist, said he would be Hoboken's first Latino mayor, as well as the first formerly undocumented immigrant to hold the city's highest office.

Bautista said the 11 years he spent in the United States without documentation after he and his mother overstayed their tourist visas had taught him resourcefulness and entrepreneurship. It had also made him sensitive to the concerns of certain immigrants living in Hoboken who may be especially fearful of what's coming out of Washington, D.C. these days.

"All politics are local," said Bautista, quoting the late House Speaker Tip O'Niell. "So at the end of the day you hear about it in city politics."

Michael DuHaime, a veteran political strategist for Gov. Chris Christie and former political director for the Republican National Committee, said talking openly about one's sexuality or religion was once an electoral taboo.

The openness of the Hoboken candidates is an indication not only of their confidence in the tolerance of the electorate, DuHaime said, but also of the evolution of politics in the city and the state. Sharing something deeply personal, he added, can be an effective way to connect with voters, especially in a field of six candidates.

"In municipal elections, usually candidates stick to bread and butter issues," like property taxes and development, DuHaime said. But, he added, "Anything that allows voters to feel like they know you better helps, so I think it's a good thing."

Karen Nason, owner of the Hoboken Hot House Cafe and a similarly named pizzeria, said in response to a survey of the candidates that she would be, "the first woman small-business owner to ever hold office of mayor in Hoboken."

The third city council member in the race, Council President Jennifer Giattino, said her election would not mark any mayoral firsts.

"I'm just going to be the mayor for everyone," Giattino said.

Likewise, the fourth elected official running for mayor, Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano, "will be mayor for all the people of Hoboken," said his campaign manager, Pablo Fonseca.

To paraphrase the oft-misquoted adage by New York City's Depression-era mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia, there is no gay or straight way of cleaning the streets -- or, for that matter, any Judeo-Christian or Sikh way, or any Latino or Anglo-American way -- or so DeFusco and some of his mayoral rivals would assert.

"In municipal government, it doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat, gay or straight," DeFusco said. "You want to make sure that your services are there on time and on budget."

That said, he added. "It's important to be who you are."

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.