The big surprises from the R.I. primary
Rhode Island experienced a political earthquake in Wednesday’s primary, as Democratic voters unseated an incumbent governor and two mayors, opening the door to a new generation of political leaders.
Taken together, the results amounted to a seismic shift in Rhode Island politics – a rejection of some of the state’s most established political figures and a striking signal that the electorate is ready for something new.
👉Surprise: There was very little doubt that Helena Foulkes was going to defeat incumbent Governor Dan McKee, but the former CVS executive swept every city and town in Rhode Island and earned 62 percent of the vote. The decisive primary victory will make it extremely difficult for independent businessman Ken Block to mount a strong general election campaign, and we’re still waiting on a winner in the razor tight Republican primary between Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino.
👉Shock: State Representative David Morales became the first candidate in Providence history to beat an incumbent mayor in a primary, uniting progressives against Mayor Brett Smiley, a moderate who struggled to excite voters and ran a relentlessly negative, pro-police campaign that made little sense in a city that has dealt 50-plus point losses to Donald Trump in three consecutive presidential elections. Smiley outspent Morales at least six-to-one in the race. Morales will be a heavy favorite in the general election against Republican Dave Talan.
👉Stunner: It turns out that the bombshell of the night took place in Pawtucket, where Democrat Adam Greenman unseated 16-year incumbent Mayor Don Grebien.
Greenman ran a slow and steady campaign, entering the race more than a year ago and chipping away at Grebien’s firm grip on City Hall with very little attention. In the end, he essentially matched Foulkes’ numbers in Pawtucket to come away with the victory. He does not have an opponent in the general election.
Joining Foulkes, Morales, and Greenman as the new stars of Rhode Island politics will be Kim Ahern, who narrowly won a four-way Democratic primary for attorney general by 3 percentage points over Keith Hoffmann.
Ahern, who faces a little-known perennial candidate in the general election, will succeed two-term Attorney General Peter Neronha, a larger-than-life personality who rubbed a lot of Democrats the wrong way with his criticism of Ahern (he supported Hoffmann) on the campaign trail.
👉Survivor: The most significant survivor of the night was Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos, who turned a lot of heads with a comfortable victory in a five-way Democratic primary, securing more than 37 percent of the vote. She’ll have a formidable general election opponent in Republican John Loughlin, but starts the race as a considerable favorite.
There were very few waves in the General Assembly, where incumbents dominated across the state and The League of Rhode Island Businesses, a more conservative group that endorsed a slate of legislative candidates and set up multiple PACs to funnel money to them, fell on its face.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
Credit: Source link
