Will There Be Any Surprises:16 Candidates for Congress, Filing Deadline Near, Endorsements, Blunders
Friday, June 23, 2023
Four of the 16 candidates L-R House Finance Chair Marvin Abney, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Former State Rep. Aaron Regunberg, and Providence Councilor John Goncalves.
Declaration forms must be submitted by 4 PM on Friday, June 30. Forms should be delivered or mailed to the Rhode Island Department of State’s Elections Division at 148 W. River Street in Providence, RI 02904 -- they must be printed and physically signed, and cannot be emailed or faxed.
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Don’t Forget — Top Candidate Once Missed Deadline
The deadline is unforgiving. In 1988, GOP Chairman John Holmes was the Republican front-runner, but his campaign failed to file his declaration papers on time and a little-known Republican, Ron Machtley, won the GOP nomination. Machtley then upset the powerhouse Democrat Chairman of the House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, Fernand St Germain.
Machtley served three terms and then ran for Governor in 2014. He lost in the GOP primary to Lincoln Almond and then was appointed President of Bryant University.
More Than a Dozen
To date, 18 candidates have announced they were running — two then dropped out. State Representative Nathan Biah and Lincoln Town Council Pamela Azar have dropped out. Biah has announced he will run for the District 1 State Senate seat.
The first congressional district seat is vacant because David Cicilline stepped down from the seat in June to take over the position as the head of the Rhode Island Foundation and collect a salary of $650,000 for the group dedicated to supporting those in need.
Endorsements and Blunders
Candidates in the crowded field have tried to differentiate themselves from the field by announcing endorsements ranging from national organizations to minor local endorsements.
Candidate and Lt. Governor Sabina Matos this week announced that she landed EMILY’S List — a preeminent national endorsement.
And she has stumbled as well.
In April, Matos touted in a press release that “over 30” politicians across the state endorsed her candidacy for the soon-to-be vacant first congressional seat.
Just one problem -- of the 31 that Matos claimed to support her congressional run, six do not.
At first, two claimed that they did not endorse her and then more reporting by GoLocal found that another four never endorsed Matos.
Former Rhode Island State Rep. Aaron Regunberg has had his bumps too.
First, just as he was announcing for office former State Senators Jeanine Calkin and Cynthia Mendes, former State Representative Moira Walsh, former candidates for Providence City Council Monica Huertas and Corey Jones, and former candidate for State Senate Jennifer Rourke issued a blistering criticism of candidate Aaron Regunberg.
The six -- and Regunberg -- are all from the progressive wing of the Democratic party. Regunberg lost in the Democratic primary for Lt. Governor in 2018 by less than 3,000 votes.
The six, in a joint statement, wrote:
When it comes to Aaron Regunberg, he has been showing women and particularly POC who he truly is for years. Why is it taking everyone else so long to believe us? As Aaron gears up for another run for yet another elected position, progressive men have been reaching out to ask us to end the rift in the progressive party. Every time we are asked to explain why we are not supporting him, we need to relive hurtful experiences, only to not be believed or questioned. This is why we have decided to explain our reasons. The rift was caused by Aaron and only Aaron can solve it…by stepping down.
University of Virginia Professor Jennifer Lawless called Democratic first congressional candidate Regunberg’s position on the debt ceiling compromise package is “irresponsible.”
“I think he's trying to differentiate himself and when asked questions, he can then highlight all of the things that he would like to see progressive spending on and not cut, but at the end of the day, it demonstrates a complete unfamiliarity with the way the budget process works,” said Lawless, who chairs the political science department at UVA.
Providence City Councilor John Goncalves has also hit a few speed bumps.
Goncales has been caught plagiarizing -- he blamed a college intern -- and falsely stating facts in his bio.
Surprise?
The big question is will there be a last-minute surprise in the final days -- will Speaker Joe Shekarchi jump into the race.
Shekarchi is sitting on $1.9 million in his state account which could be converted.
He would immediately be the front-runner.
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