With the primary just 2 weeks from tomorrow, Rhode Island political experts and GoLocalProv MINDSETTERS weigh in with predictions for who will win the statewide primaries for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and the citywide Democratic primary for Providence Mayor.
Related Slideshow: Experts Make Predictions on Primary Outcomes
Professor of Political Science, Roger Williams University
Democrat for Governor: To close to call, but if I have to say, I'll go with Pell, because of his well-funded and relentlessly positive ad campaign and his very strong ground game
While we wish we had a crystal ball to predict the outcome of elections, our organization doesn't venture there. However, we do have a statement regarding one of the candidates and his campaign.
"The announcement on his website reads “Clay Pell is looking for roots - grassroots”. Presumably he’s looking because he has neither roots in RI nor does he have a grassroots movement to elect him without the help of special interest public unions. In addition to the fact that Clay Pell couldn’t answer the question as to whether he had lived in RI for a calendar year, he’s pumping $3 million of his own money into his campaign, which looks more like buying the governorship than a grassroots movement. On top of that, having the head of NEARI, one of RI’s most powerful special interest groups, acting as a campaign puppeteer and throwing the weight of its membership to support Pell, could hardly be claimed as a grassroots movement. (It would, however, be interesting to see what a polling of the individual, hard-working, teachers on the front line would say about the political activities of their organization.) Clay is not his grandfather, just like Chafee is not his father. While Pell’s gubernatorial candidacy certainly looks pumped up by his resume, it is somewhat dubious to think that relatively short stints of unpaid internships are a substitute for the experience and leadership that is so desperately needed in our state."
