In the marquee race of Rhode Island’s 2024 primary, Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins scored a commanding victory against Republican rival state Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, as voters rejected her argument that the city needed change.
Unofficial results showed Hopkins winning 58.5% of the vote, compared with 41.5% for Fenton-Fung.
Fenton-Fung is married to longtime former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, who remains popular locally, and she scored a big win by beating state Rep. Nicholas Mattiello, the House speaker at the time, in 2020.
However, Cranston voters made their preference clear for Hopkins, who first won election in 2020 with help from the Fungs. Relations later went south between them.
In other races, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat first elected in 2006, cruised past rival Michael Costa with 83.9% of the vote, with 331 of 345 polling places reporting.
State Rep. Patricia Morgan, R-West Warwick, bested conservative activist Ray McKay for the chance to take on Whitehouse in November. With returns from most polling places in, she led with 64.5% of the vote. Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien scored 73.2% of the vote against primary rival Camron Segalla.
In Woonsocket’s nonpartisan primary for mayor, John Ward and Christopher Beauchamp were the top two finishers, meaning they will square off in November.
Voters decided 18 Democratic primaries for the General Assembly.
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
