David Cicilline Wins Big Over Anthony Gemma

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Dan McGowan, GoLocalProv News Editor

Incumbent Congressman David Cicilline convincingly defeated challenger Anthony Gemma in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, according to the Board of Elections.

Cicilline had over 60 percent of the vote with 72 percent of the precincts reporting.

Cicilline’s decisive victory came after a bitter primary battle that saw Gemma accuse the incumbent of participating in voter fraud schemes dating back to his first run for Mayor of Providence in 2002. Gemma paid a private investigative firm $40,000 to uncover what he described as voter fraud and “other potential criminal actions by David Cicilline and his associates,” but failed to provide evidence that directly tied Cicilline to any wrongdoing.

Cicilline, who has faced severe criticism for his handling of the city’s finance during his eight-year tenure as Mayor, dismissed Gemma’s accusations and mostly focused his attention on national issues as he sought to convince voters that he was the choice in the race.

The resounding win came nearly seven months after a Brown University poll showed Cicilline had a 14.8 percent approval rating, one of the lowest ratings of any member of Congress in the country.

But thanks in part to endorsements from the state’s most popular politicians (Gina Raimondo and Angel Taveras) as well as the fact that Providence avoided filing for bankruptcy earlier this year, Cicilline was able to improve his standing among voters and pull out the victory.

Cicilline now face a challenge from Republican candidate Brendan Doherty, who held a double-digit lead in the polls earlier this year.

Dan McGowan can be reached at dmcgowan@golocalprov.com. Follow him on Twitter: @danmcgowan.

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