Does a Republican Candidate Have the Edge Over Raimondo?
Monday, February 27, 2017
Republicans across America are on a roll and there is no place the GOP is doing better than capturing State Houses.
The Republican ranks in Governors offices swelled to 33 and Democratic Governors dropped to 16 — a 95-year low for the Democrats. Of the 16 remaining Democratic Governors is Rhode Island’s Gina Raimondo.
Democrat Raimondo, who won the Governor’s office in 2014 and is expected to seek re-election in 2018, has more than $1.8 million cash on hand -- a stark contrast to the GOP’s candidate in 2014 and present Cranston Mayor, Allan Fung.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFung did have a re-election campaign for Mayor in 2016, but now only has $55,000 cash on hand.
While Raimondo is an aggressive fundraiser, her advantage may be greatly muted by the fundraising capacity of the Republican Governors Association (RGA).
“After President Donald Trump’s upset win last November, the RGA more than doubled DGA’s fundraising effort, $5.1 million to $2.1 million in the final weeks of 2016,” according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of IRS fundraising records.
As Gary Sasse of the Hassenfeld Institute recent wrote in a column for the Ripon Society and reprinted in GoLocal, “While nobody can predict the future, all signs suggest that the 2018 gubernatorial races in both Connecticut and Rhode Island are eminently winnable. The ascendency of New England’s Republican governors has not gone unnoticed. A recent article in the Washington Post was headlined, 'Governors lead a Republican renaissance in New England.' The question facing Republicans in the region is whether GOP victories at the gubernatorial level can usher in a new political order at other levels of government, as well.”
GOP Governors in RI
In the past 30 years in Rhode Island, the Governor’s office has been held by a Republican 20 of those years (Ed DiPrete 4, Lincoln Almond 8, and Don Carcieri 8), Democrats six (Bruce Sundlun 4, Raimondo 2), and independents four (Lincoln Chafee). While RI is a Democratic state, voters for the past three decades have supported GOP gubernatorial candidates, in part, to balance the overwhelming Democratic legislature.
Governor Baker Factor
The most popular Governor in the United States is Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker — Republican. According to Morning Consult’s most recent poll, Baker has an approval rating of 72 percent — 31-point higher than Raimondo.
Can the combination of RGA’s money coupled with a Baker game plan be a factor in 2018 in RI? Stay tuned.
Related Slideshow: Potential 2018 Candidates for RI Governor
Related Articles
- Moore: Raimondo’s Old School, Know A Guy Politics
- Fecteau: Raimondo’s Sanctuary City Tightrope
- Feroce Say Raimondo’s Economic Subsidies are “Nonsense”
- Raimondo Agrees to GoLocal’s Demands, Pledges to Release State Police Records on 38 Studios
- LIVE: Dickinson, Former Asst AG & GoLocal’s Attorney Discusses Raimondo’s 38 Studios Announcement
- Siedle: Red Flags Pepper RI Pension’s Investment In Governor Raimondo’s Venture Fund
- Brown Buying Raimondo’s Chief of Staff and Husband’s Home for More than $1 Million
- Moore: Raimondo’s Free College Folly
- Horowitz: Raimondo’s Free College Tuition Proposal - A Smart Investment in RI’s Future
- 38 Studios Civil Case Concludes, But Raimondo Continues to Block Release of Key Documents
- Raimondo’s Black History Month Comments Ripped by Former State Rep Rickman
- ABC6’s “In The Arena” - Raimondo and 38 Studios and Trump Chaos
- Moore: Feroce Destroys Raimondo’s Economic Strategy
- Moore: Raimondo Badmouths Deloitte, Then Breaks Bread With Them
- Raimondo Headlining Deloitte-Sponsored Event in California
- Raimondo Administration Starts Process for Locating New Innovation Campus
- Mattiello Calls Raimondo “Tone Deaf” on Public’s Support for Elimination the Car Tax
- War of the Roses Breaks Out Between Mattiello and Raimondo
- Chafee Calls Out Raimondo Administration for “Candy Store” Economic Development Strategy
- Legislative Leaders Fire Back at Raimondo’s Claim They Pressured Her on UHIP Launch
- “I am Sorry” Says Raimondo About Failed UHIP Rollout
- Raimondo, Chafee and Mattiello All on GoLocal LIVE - See the Schedule
- Governor Raimondo On GoLocal LIVE and Talks UHIP, 38 Studios, and Free College Tuition
- Raimondo’s Interim HHS Boss to Resurrect UHIP Oversaw Failed VT Healthcare System
- Moore: Raimondo, Mattiello Squabble Over Budget Giveaways