"Three Democratic incumbents in R.I. General Assembly lose primaries" by Erika Niedowski | Associated Press September 13, 2014
PROVIDENCE — Three incumbent Democratic lawmakers lost their primaries in a year that is unlikely to bring much overall change to the makeup of Rhode Island’s General Assembly.
Representative Maria Cimini of Providence was defeated by attorney Daniel McKiernan, who got 54 percent of the vote.
He was the only challenger to an incumbent to have the backing of House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, who said earlier this week that he had not felt that Cimini was ‘‘on the team’’ and that McKiernan was a better fit for the district.
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In Newport, Representative Peter Martin lost to first-time candidate Lauren Carson, who got 53 percent of the vote. Some were upset that Martin had supported elimination of a separate local ballot question on adding casino games at Newport Grand, though the question must be approved both locally and statewide.
Martin, who has opposed the addition of table games, said members of the anticasino group misunderstood the Legislature’s move to get rid of the local question and turned on him.
‘‘After all of my wonderful accomplishments in six years at the General Assembly, if they want to oust me on a misunderstanding of one bill, I accept it and I’m moving on,’’ he said Friday. ‘‘I stand proud on my record.’’
Carson, who also opposes the casino expansion, is unchallenged in the general election.
In South Kingstown, Representative Spencer Dickinson, a vocal opponent of repaying the bonds that financed the failed 38 Studios deal, fell short against Kathleen Fogarty. Dickinson had been up by a handful of votes before the counting of mail ballots, but Fogarty ultimately beat him by 32 votes out of 1,306 cast.
Wow, Rhode Island has rigged elections at the local level.
Fogarty moves on to face Republican Lacey McGreevy, a trade show consultant who has competed in numerous beauty pageants, including the ‘‘Perfect Miss’’ competition in 2011. She represented Massachusetts.
About half of House and Senate incumbents seeking reelection are running unopposed, and the number of races expected to be competitive is modest.
And they called it democracy!
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"Money race on after R.I. nominees drain bank accounts" by Erika Niedowski | Associated Press September 12, 2014
PROVIDENCE — The race for dollars is on for the November election after Rhode Island’s gubernatorial nominees drained their campaign accounts in contested primaries in the opening phase of what will be the state’s costliest election.
Treasurer Gina Raimondo spent over $5 million to secure the Democratic nomination Tuesday, defeating Mayor Angel Taveras of Providence and former Obama administration official Clay Pell. She had little money left by the primary, but is known as a skilled fund-raiser.
Republican Allan Fung, mayor of Cranston, spent more than $783,000 in his race against businessman Ken Block. He had about $78,000 left, campaign spokesman Rob Coupe said Thursday.
Only Fung has filed to receive public matching funds; his request is pending at the Board of Elections. He would be entitled to $1.1 million, at most, in public financing. Coupe said the campaign expects to receive just under $1 million from its initial request.
Richard Thornton, director of campaign finance at the Board of Elections, said Fung will be allowed to exceed the $2.3 million overall spending cap that is normally imposed on gubernatorial candidates who accept public financing. That is because Raimondo has exceeded that amount already.
Coupe said Fung will ‘‘absolutely’’ be competitive on the fund-raising front.
‘‘We will have enough money to run a solid campaign,’’ he said. ‘‘This is a high-profile race. There’s a lot at stake. People will be paying attention, and we will have the resources to win this election.’’
Raimondo noted in her victory speech in Pawtucket Tuesday night that she had used up all her money in the hard-fought primary, and she sent out a fund-raising appeal within hours of stepping off the stage.
‘‘It took everything we had to win this race, and our new opponent starts the general election with a big financial advantage,’’ the e-mail said, referring to the matching funds Fung is expected to receive. It noted that Rhode Island has not elected a Democratic governor in more than 20 years, and has never elected a woman.
Raimondo spokeswoman Nicole Kayner declined Thursday to comment on the candidate’s fund-raising efforts.
The governor’s race already is the most expensive in the state’s history, with some $13 million spent, according to the most recent campaign finance reports, which were filed before the primary.
Raimondo dominated the money race on the Democratic side. Taveras spent nearly $2.7 million, while Pell spent about $3.7 million, filings show. Pell put $3.4 million of his own money into the race.
The general election will be held Nov. 4.
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Related: What Co$t Politics?
Sexism abounds in Rhode Island!
