A second Republican is joining the race in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District, giving voters a rare primary choice between two conservative GOP candidates.
Stephen “Doc” Skoly is slated to announce his CD2 campaign at Circe Prime Italian Steak House in Cranston at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“I’m excited to officially launch this campaign surrounded by the community that has shaped and inspired me,” Skoly said in a news release ahead of his launch. “This campaign is about listening, working together, and delivering real results for the people of the 2nd Congressional District.”
In stepping down as the chairman of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity, a conservative think tank in Rhode Island, Skoly said key issues include “the state’s energy policies, affordability initiatives, medical freedom and parental rights in education.”
Skoly, who flirted with running in previous years, gained public attention for filing a lawsuit against the state after it shut his dental practice for six months in 2021 because he refused to get vaccinated against COVID. The case was ultimately dismissed.
He joins Victor Mellor in the Republican primary for the seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner.
Magaziner first won the seat in 2022 after Rep. Jim Langevin decided not to seek re-election, defeating Republican Allan Fung by about 3.5 percentage points, a difference of 7,463 votes.
Mellor grew up in Woonsocket and found success in the construction business after moving to Florida.
He is a strong supporter of President Trump and held a March 7 rally in Warwick to promote his CD2 campaign.
The speakers at the event included Middletown native Michael Flynn, a former National Security adviser in the first Trump administration who is also known as a leading evangelist for Christian nationalism.
In a news release, Mellor said his platform is “to maintain a secure border and to deport criminal illegal aliens, to lower the costs of housing, energy and healthcare, and to refocus our schools on rigorous academic achievement.”
The Providence Journal has reported that Mellor was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and that he was arrested on charges of domestic violence in Rhode Island and Florida, though both charges were later dropped.
The primary election is Sept. 8.
