Progressives hold ground in RI’s Democratic primary
There were no major advances made as there were four years ago, but progressive candidates made small gains even as many good candidates fell to a Democratic Party that was not going to underestimate them a second time.
September 14, 2022, 1:26 pm
By Steve Ahlquist
I expect the narrative to be that progressives underperformed in yesterday’s Democratic primaries, but that just isn’t the case. There were no major advances made as there were four years ago, but progressive candidates made small gains even as many good candidates fell to a Democratic Party that was not going to underestimate them a second time. As Senator Jeanine Calkin said to a room full of Rhode Island Political Cooperative candidates and supporters at Fete Music Hall in Olneyville last night, just as in Star Wars the rebels had a big victory in blowing up the Death Star, in the next movie, The Empire Strikes Back.
The night was not a rout. Progressives held their ground. Here are some initial thoughts.
“In a major victory for the Providence chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, four of the organization’s endorsed candidates won their primary races Tuesday night, doubling the number of DSA members who will likely hold office in Rhode Island come November. These elected socialists will fight for bold policies that benefit the working class, including a statewide Medicare-for-all system, high-quality publicly owned housing, green jobs and infrastructure, workers’ rights, and a minimum wage of at least $19 per hour” wrote the Democratic Socialists of America in a press release this morning. They cited the fact that four of their endorsed candidates, Enrique Sanchez (House District 9), Miguel Sanchez (Providence City Council Ward 6), State Senator Sam Bell (District 5) and Representative David Morales (District 7) all won their primaries.
“Enrique Sanchez ousted 29-year incumbent Representative Anastasia Williams by a 13-point margin. At 26 years old, Enrique will be one of the youngest legislators in the General Assembly,” writes the DSA. “Senator Sam Bell, who has rankled the political establishment by exposing corporate giveaways and corruption at the State House, decisively defeated establishment-backed challenger David Salvatore by 20 points. Miguel Sanchez also cruised to an easy victory, and Representative David Morales ran unopposed… Despite mailers attacking the political affiliations of the candidates, Rhode Islanders continue to support socialists for office.”
Let’s take the races one by one
Congressional District 2
Former State Treasurer Seth Magaziner handily won the Democratic Party primary with 54% of the vote, a clear majority in a six-way race. He now goes up against Allan Fung. David Segal, the progressive in the race, came in a distant second. But in a seat formerly held by James Langevin, this can hardly be seen a progressive loss.
Governor
McKee elected is McKee perfected.
Daniel McKee won his primary with less than a third of the total vote. He’ll be going up against Republican Ashley Kalus and some independent candidates. My prediction: If McKee prevails in the general election, expect to see him shift right.
Governor McKee has always been a right-leaning corporatist Democrat closely aligned with the Northern Rhode Island and Greater Providence Chambers of Commerce. After he inherited the position of Governor, McKee was forced to tack left, signing the Act on Climate legislation opposed by the Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce, for instance, because he really didn’t want to be replaced as Governor. Now, with four years ahead of him, we can expect the full McKee, for better of for worse.
I suspect we saw a hint of the full McKee in the video of his reaction to a concession phone call from Helena Foulkes that came at a time he found inconvenient. Governor McKee was dismissive and high-handed, there’s no reason to suspect a kinder and gentler McKee is in the offing.
Lieutenant Governor
Progressives lost a seat in the Senate when Cynthia Mendes decided to run for Lieutenant Governor alongside Matt Brown. This was a big gamble and a big loss. Senator Mendes, during floor debates, was a powerful moral voice when she rose to advocate for or challenge controversial legislation. In retrospect, perhaps she should have stayed in her seat and continued to build as a Senator before making a big move for state office. When Uprise RI spoke to her briefly last night she told us she wasn’t done with politics just yet.
Presuming she wins in the General, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos who won last night, can continue to distance herself a bit from Governor McKee, as she did when she defended former Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott after Governor McKee made some disparaging comments when he learned that Dr. Alexander-Scott had endorsed Helena Foulkes.
One last thought for now: Depending on how the FBI investigation into the McKee Administration works out, we might be seeing a Governor Matos sooner than later.
Secretary of State
Former State Representative Gregg Amore won his primary, as expected, and his Republican opponent, Pat Cortellessa, has already contacted Uprise RI about doing a forum, which we’ll be planning soon. You can watch the Democratic Primary Secretary of State forum Uprise RI did with the Community Libraries of Providence at the link.
State Treasurer
And after weeks of speculation and no polling, former Central Falls Mayor James Diossa beat former Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor by a good ten points. It wasn’t really that close.
Providence Mayor
Of all the mayoral races in the state, Providence’s was the most interesting. Here progressives scored a loss, though the winner, Brett Smiley, has claimed the progressive mantle in some comments. That said, Gonzalo Cuervo and former City Councilmember Nirva LaFortune both sit comfortably to the left of Smiley on issues such as repealing the Law Enforcement Officer’s Bill of Rights, removing police officers from schools, and on rent stabilization (at least in the case of Cuervo.)
Smiley is promising to get back to the basics, as in snow removal and filling potholes. He’s called some initiatives Mayor Elorza has worked on distractions, such as the basic income program. But Smiley will also have to work with a very new, very different City Council, which might temper his ambitions and push him towards some progressive reforms. Let’s look at the way the Providence City Council is shaping up.
The Providence City Council
There were many good progressive candidates that did not win their primaries. Other progressive candidates clobbered the competition. Three primary races were settled by 20 votes or less.
Ward 1
John Goncalves ran unopposed.
Ward 2
Helen Anthony ran unopposed.
Ward 3
In a super close race Sue Anderbois eked out a victory over Corey Jones by 15 votes. She goes up against independent Mike Fink. The seat was vacated by Nirva LaFortune, who ran for mayor.
Ward 4
Justin Roias beat Joseph Casoli.
Ward 5
Nobody worked harder to win their campaign than Jackie Goldman, who lost decisively to incumbent Jo-Ann Ryan. Whether or not Goldman was subjected to an anti-queer smear campaign is a matter of debate.
Ward 6
Miguel Sanchez won his race against Joseph Steven Giampietro, who messaged Uprise RI to say that he dropped out of the race and was not campaigning. Sanchez faces Republican Jorge Porras in the general.
Ward 7
Ana Vargas beat out David Marshall in Ward 7. Uprise RI would love to interview her.
Ward 8
James Taylor ran unopposed.
Ward 9
In the city council race with the most candidates, former State Senator Juan Pichardo prevailed over three other Democratic candidates and will face two independents, Diego Arena-Morley and Jose Perez Corporan.
Ward 10
Pedro Espinal eked out a 34 vote victory over Natalia Rosa Sosa. It was a very close race for someone with his eyes on becoming City Council President.
Ward 11
Incumbent Mary K Harris defended her position from challenger George Lindsey in the primary, and she’ll have to do it again against independent Cedric Russell in the general if she wants to keep her seat.
Ward 12
Althea Graves has long been a powerful presence in her Ward 12 neighborhood, and she won her three way race for City Council by 20 votes over Belen Florez. She faces independent Seangsouk Keobouthanh in the general.
Ward 13
Rachel Miller is running unopposed.
Ward 14
Shelley Peterson beat environmental scientist and Co-op candidate Andrew Poyant by 36 votes.
Ward 15
Oscar Vargas narrowly beat Santos Javier by 14 votes to retain his position.
It was in the General Assembly races where progressives held their own, but didn’t make any major gains.
State Senate
Another way to look at the results of last night’s primary is that they were not so much anti-progressive as they were pro-incumbent. Redistricting was a powerful force in this election. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (District 4) offloaded most of the neighborhoods he lost to Lenny Cioe two years ago, virtually guaranteeing a bigger win last night.
We already talked about the loss of Cynthia Mendes in the Senate. Former East Providence City Councilmember Robert Britto has that seat now, assuming nothing untoward in the midterms, and he is a center right Democrat.
Progressives Sam Bell (District 5) and Tiara Mack (District 6) both successfully defended their seats from primary challengers supported by General Assembly leadership. Tiara Mack isn’t done yet: She has a Republican challenger in Adriana Bonilla.
Donnie Anderson, supported by the Rhode Island Queer PAC, was unsuccessful in her bid to oust Maryellen Goodwin in District 2. The Queer PAC had a rough night with none of their candidates winning, but it’s their first year and they will be back, I am told.
Senators Samuel Zurier (District 3), Frank Ciccone (District 7), Valerie Lawson (District 14), Frank Lombardo (District 25) and Frank Lombardi (District 26) all defeated their primary challengers.
A notable loss for progressives was Senator Jeanine Calkin (District 30). Mark McKenney first unseated Calkin four years ago, but lost to Calkin two years ago. That seat is flipping again.
The loss of Senator Calkin is offset, perhaps, by the victory of Co-op candidate Jennifer Rourke in District 29. It was an open seat vacated by Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey. After being assaulted by one of her opponents, a Providence Police Officer who dropped out of the race, Rourke faced off against and defeated Michael Carreiro. Despite having attended a party in blackface a few years ago, Carreiro still managed to get over 1300 votes in Warwick.
David Tikoian, accused of harassing the wife of the former Colonel of the Rhode Island State Police, won his race to replace outgoing Senator Steven Archambault in Senate District 22. Given that Archambault strengthened the conservative nature of his district through redistricting, Republican Paul Santucci may have a chance to swing that seat Republican.
Another progressive seat, the one being vacated by Kendra Anderson (District 31) was lost to Matthew LaMountain, who overcame Harrison Tuttle, executive director of the Black Lives Matter RI PAC.
The District 11 seat being vacated by James Seveney was won by Linda Ujifusa, who now faces two independents and a Republican in November.
The Working Families Party supported Victoria Gu in Senate District 38. Gu faces independent Caswell Cooke, a fixture in Westerly politics who quit the Republican Party post Trump – an old school Republican. Pam Lauria in Senate District 32 will face off against two independents and a Republican.
House of Representatives
The biggest progressive House victory of the evening went to Enrique Sanchez, who decisively beat a member of Speaker Joseph Shekarchi‘s leadership team, Anastasia Williams in District 4. Representative Williams chaired the House Labor Committee and has been a member of the House for three decades. Over her long career she advanced many progressive issues and causes during her years in the House. She was, to put it mildly, a force to be reckoned with.
Another victory was Jennifer Stewart in Pawtucket’s House District 59, who knocked off a reliable Speaker ally in Jean Phillippe Barros. Another ally to House leadership, Carlos Tobon, vacated his House 58 seat over financial issues, allowing criminal justice advocate Cherie Cruz to take that seat.
Brandon Voas appears to have beaten James McLaughlin in House District 57. He has a Republican opponent in Dennis Hubbard. McLaughlin has been in the House for decades and is a strong conservative on issues of LGBTQ and reproductive rights.
Brianna Henries defended her House District 64 seat despite last minute smear mailers sent out from an anonymous source. Gregory Greco, Tiara Mack and many other progressive candidates were also victims of these smear mailers. Henries has an independent challenger to deal with if she wants to keep her seat.
Continuing the bad news for LGBTQ candidates, Giona Picheco and Damian Lima lost their bids to oust Charlene Lima (District 14) and Ray Hull (District 6), respectively, and Alex Kithes did not prevail over Glenn Dusablon in District 49 in Woonsocket.
Kinverly Dicupe was unable to oust Mary Messier in House District 62.
Once again, the power of redistricting and incumbency seems to have shielded some candidates from being bested by progressive opponents. House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (District 23) and Majority Leader Christopher Blazejewski (District 2) prevailed, as did Representatives Joseph McNamara (District 19), Camille Vella-Wilkinson (District 21), Joseph Solomon (District 22), Julie Casimiro (District 31), Robert Craven (District 32), Robert Phillips (District 51) and Arthur Corvese (District 55). But some progressives also benefitted from these factors, including Representatives Brandon Potter (District 16) and Brianna Henries.
It will be interesting to see if redistricting has been enough to tip some of these seats Republican in the general elections. Dana Traverse is challenging Speaker Shekarchi, for instance, looking for a repeat of Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung‘s victory of former Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello in Cranston two years ago.
Representative Vella-Wilkinson is facing Republican Marie Hopkins, Joseph Solomon is facing an independent and a Republican, Julie Casimiro is facing Republican Lisa Marie Leavitt, and Robert Craven is facing Republican Ryan Hansen.
It would be ironic if centrist Democrats worked to repel progressive challengers only to open themselves up to Republican victories.
