First in war, last in peace, and, uh, first in squelching the march of automated supermarket checkout lanes? Yeah. Eat your mechanical heart out, Marty the Robot. Thanks for stopping by. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, Threads and X. Here we go.
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1. STORY OF THE WEEK:
For all the focus on the Democratic primary contest between Gov. Dan McKee and Helena Foulkes, many Rhode Islanders overlook or underestimate the muscle of the General Assembly. The legislature controls the power of the purse, using its prerogative each year to add and subtract from the governor’s budget proposal. (Lawmakers have yet to pay a political price for the sharp upward trajectory of state spending to $15.2 billion – a 70% increase from 10 years ago.) The General Assembly also plays the key role in setting the stage for new laws on a dizzying array of subjects, from preventing immigration arrests at court without a warrant to allowing bars to remain open late for the World Cup.
The Democratic primary matchup for governor is a potential change election. So will elections later this year bring any real change to the legislature?
The General Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives, has moved a bit to the left over the last 10 years, supporting more restrictions on guns, with some credit due to the progressive Rhode Island Working Families Party. Now comes The League of R.I. Businesses, which is supporting 17 primary and general elections candidates for open seats or in challenges to incumbent Democrats. LORIB-backed candidates are a bit of a mixed bag. It’s unclear whether these hopefuls can overcome established lawmakers with better name recognition. But the conservative-leaning group has aggressively prioritized fundraising, and since money is the mother’s milk of politics, that alone makes LORIB’s efforts worth watching. It was 10 years ago when the Working Families Party upset House Majority Leader John DeSimone, via an insurgent win by Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. Now, WFP this week endorsed four first-time candidates, Nelly Burdette (challenging Sen. Thomas Paolino, a Lincoln Republican), Amy Santiago (competing for the seat vacated by Rep. David Morales), Gena Felix (running against Sen. Lori Urso, a Pawtucket Democrat) and Veronicka Vega (running against Rep. Jon Brien, independent of Woonsocket).
2. REALITY CHECK ONE:
Because of the ongoing weakness of the Republican Party in Rhode Island, most of the action in the primary ending Sept. 9 is in Democratic matchups. Based on filings made with the Secretary of State Gregg Amore’s office this week, there will be 15 Democratic primaries, including two Democrats squaring off for the seat held by Rep. Richard Fascia (R-Johnston) and seven in the Senate.
3. REALITY CHECK TWO:
More than 60% of Rhode Island state lawmakers – 43 state representatives and 25 state senators – will not face an opponent on the way back to the next legislative session. That’s a higher percentage than in 2024. Candidates still have to gather signatures and get them validated to qualify for the ballot. Here’s a rundown of the uncontested lawmakers as things stand:
HOUSE: Chris Blazejewski (D-Providence); Nathan Biah (D-Providence); Rep. Rebecca Kislak (D-Providence); Ray Hull (D-Providence); John Lombardi (D-Providence); Scott Slater (D-Cranston); Grace Diaz (D-Providence); Brandon Potter (D-Cranston); Jacquelyn Baginski (D-Cranston); David Bennett (D-Warwick); Marie Hopkins (R-Warwick); Evan Shanley (D-Warwick); Thomas Noret (D-Coventry); Earl Read (D-Coventry); George Nardone (R-Coventry), Sherry Roberts (R-West Greenwich); Justine Caldwell (D-East Greenwich); Teresa Tanzi (D-South Kingstown); Michael Chippendale (R-Foster); Deborah Fellela (D-Johnston); Mia Ackerman (D-Cumberland); Mary Ann Shallcross Smith (D-Lincoln); David Place (R-Burrillville); Brian Newberry (R-North Smithfield); Stephen Casey (D-Woonsocket); Robert Phillips (D-Woonsocket); Alex Marszalkowski (D-Cumberland); William O’Brien (D-North Providence); Arthur Corvese (D-North Providence); Joshua Giraldo (D-Central Falls); Cherie Cruz (D-Pawtucket); Jennifer Stewart (D-Pawtucket); Mary Duffy Messier (D-Pawtucket); Katherine Kazarian (D-East Providence); Jenni Furtado (D-East Providence); Jennifer Boylan (D-Barrington); June Speakman (D-Warren); Susan Donovan (D-Bristol); Jay Edwards (D-Tiverton); Michelle McGaw (D-Portsmouth); Terri Cortvriend (D-Portsmouth); Marvin Abney (D-Newport); Alex Finkelman (D-Jametown); Lauren Carson (D-Newport).
SENATE: Jake Bissaillon (D-Providence); Ana Quezada (D-Providence); Sam Zurier (D-Providence); Stefano Famiglietti (D-North Providence); Tiara Mack (D-Providence); Frank Ciccone (D-Providence); John Burke (D-West Warwick); Wally Felag (D-Warren); Linda Ujifusa (D-Portsmouth); Louis DiPalma (D-Middletown); Robert Britto (D-East Providence); Gordon Rogers (R-Foster); David Tikoian (D-Smithfield); Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield); Melissa Murray (D-Woonsocket); Andrew Dimitri (D-Johnston); Todd Patalano (D-Cranston); Hanna Gallo (D-Cranston); Lammis Vargas (D-Cranston); Peter Appollonio (D-Warwick); Mark McKenney (D-Warwick); Matthew LaMountain (D-Warwick); Pam Lauria (D-Barrington); Bridget Valverde (D-North Kingstown); Sue Sosnowski (D-South Kingstown).
4. GOP PROSPECTS:
Aaron Guckian won the backing of the state Republican Party this week, but he still faces a steep uphill climb on the way to the November election. Guckian had less than $100,000 in his campaign account as of the last quarter (although he will eventually have more through the state’s matching funds program), and media attention remains focused on the fight between Democrats Gov. Dan McKee and Helena Foulkes. Guckian, who is as genial as he is tall (6’7”), got a respectable 43% of the vote when he ran against Democratic Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos in 2022. Guckian, an East Greenwich resident, hopes that dissatisfaction with Democratic governance and the high cost of living will raise his fortunes. “I think it’s very simple,” Guckian said during a wide-ranging interview this week on One on One. “People are really frustrated and it’s costing too much … paying more and getting less. So people usually will vote with their wallets.” Perhaps. But local Republicans also have to overcome a long losing streak. Lincoln Almond and Don Carcieri held the governor’s office in Rhode Island from 1995 through 2011, but the GOP hasn’t won a statewide race since Carcieri notched a close re-election win over Democrat Charles Fogarty in 2006. With just 14 seats in the 113-seat legislature, Republicans still face internal division – and there are few signs that the GOP is interested in a serious analysis of why it’s not faring better.
5. SPEAKING OF REPUBLICANS:
After a long run as mayor of Cranston, two losing runs for governor and a loss in a congressional contest, Allan Fung announced this week that his wife, Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, and he have left the GOP to become independents – and that he’s running for her former seat in the General Assembly. “For a long time, I was proud to carry the banner of fiscal conservatism, and we still have many friends in the Republican Party today,” Fung said in a statement. “But we reached a point where we believed our loyalty should be to the people we represent, not to a political label.” This announcement hits on a lot of levels, not least since it signals a clash with Rep. Chris Paplauskas (R-Cranston), a member of the administration of Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, who soundly beat Fenton-Fung in 2024. It also lands as a creative attempt to breathe fresh life into Fung’s political career, marking a decided contrast with the many first-time candidates who run every few years for Congress and other lofty posts.
6. THE DEMOCRATS:
Helena Foulkes continues to roll up endorsements as we move into summer. Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign touted how he got more votes during the state Democratic convention last weekend, but failing to get the party endorsement is not a strong look for an incumbent. While gaining union support was a subtext for McKee’s decision to sign the charter school moratorium, the move also triggered some sharp criticism. Coming on the heels of support from McKee’s hometown Cumberland Democratic City Committee, Foulkes also got Democratic endorsements in Providence, Warwick and Woonsocket. With housing remaining a top issue in Rhode Island, I have a story coming Wednesday looking at how McKee and Foulkes compare on that issue. You can also catch up with my One on One interviews with both candidates.
7. GINAWORLD:
Gina Raimondo doesn’t have the answers on how to manage disruptions for American workers in a world dominated by artificial intelligence, but she knows this is a vital topic to address. It’s also a defining role and a high-profile platform for Rhode Island’s former governor in the aftermath of her recently announced decision to not seek the presidency. Raimondo told the PBS NewsHour’s Amna Nawaz that the nonprofit effort RAISE US is beginning with “a coalition of the willing” – two Democratic and two Republican states. “These are just the first four,” Raimondo said. “You know, I hope, a year from now, we have many more. This isn’t a Democrat-Republican issue. This is an American issue. I don’t think that this country is prepared for this transition. Unemployment insurance was created 100 years ago in the Great Depression. It hasn’t been updated since. It needs to be updated. College is largely the same as it was 50, 60, 70 years ago. So what we are trying to do here, it’s ambitious, but we’re trying to, like I said, have an all-hands-on-deck effort. We want to design some new policies and then pilot them in these states with a coalition of companies to see what works and scale what works.”
8. RI NEWS IN BRIEF:
***Care New England announced that Dr. Michael Wagner, president and CEO, will step down following the selection of his successor in early 2027.
***Congrats to former colleague Alex Nunes on his new, independent news site, South County Star, and to former The Valley Breeze stalwart Ethan Shorey on his site, The Local Insider.
***Congrats to author and ProJo alum Ariel Sabar on emerging as a staff writer at The Atlantic.
***OSM’s Luis Hernandez talks with Scott Wolf of Grow Smart RI about public transit, the historic tax credit and Grow Smart’s Power of Place Summit.
***A majority of workers at Ocean State Media voted to unionize.
***The Whelks are reuniting to say goodbye.
9. KICKER:
It’s a sign of the times when Rhode Island wins praise for becoming the latest state to allow campaign funds to be used for the security of candidates. “As threats against public officials continue to rise, security costs are another barrier for mamas and caregivers trying to represent their communities,” Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder and CEO of Vote Mama Foundation, said in a statement. “If candidates are forced to choose between running for office and protecting their families, many qualified people will choose to forego public service altogether. Rhode Island’s approval of Campaign Funds for Security makes democracy stronger.”
