Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
Friday, September 12, 2014
Every Friday, Russ Moore breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Rhode Island politics. Check out who made the lists this week.
HOT
Gina Raimondo: The Democrat State Treasurer ran a fantastic campaign and cruised to victory in the Democratic Primary for Governor thanks to a little help from her...enemies. All kidding aside, while it helped that the public sector unions were split among her rivals, there's no taking anything away from the charismatic Rhodes Scholar, who moves to the general election as the favorite.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAllan Fung: When all was said and done, and there was plenty said, Fung was able to survive several campaign setbacks and score a convincing victory over his Republican opponent in the Gubernatorial Primary. Funding may be an issue, but the Republican nominee always has a puncher's chance in the race for Governor.
Nellie Gorbea: The former Deputy Secretary of State scored a shocking upset in the Democratic Primary for Secretary of State, despite being severely outspent and receiving far fewer endorsements from unions and business leaders. Now she moves on to the general election where she'll be a heavy favorite.
20%: Roughly 20 percent of the electorate who could vote in the primary turned out to vote on Tuesday. That's not an earth shattering number, but it represents progress given the historically low turnout in primary elections.
Jorge Elorza: The law professor and former Housing Court Judge prevailed against City Council President Michael Solomon despite allegations of plagiarism and the revelation of a shoplifting conviction from when he was 18, not to mention being severely outspent. What's more, Elorza prevailed despite losing Providence's South Side. It was all about the East Side turnout.
Dan McKee: Like Gorbea, McKee pulled off a surprising victory in the Democratic Primary for Lieutenant Governor. McKee's victory was buttressed by Warwick State Representative Frank Ferri's entry into the race, as he siphoned off "progressive" votes that would've gone to Mollis.
NOT
Robert Walsh Jr.: The cerebral Executive Director of the Rhode Island National Education Association out-thought himself this time by supporting Clay Pell's bid for Governor. In throwing the weight of the powerful teachers union behind Pell, he took away votes that would've likely gone to Taveras. Hopefully he enjoys the fruit basket Raimondo will be sending him to thank him for her victory.
The Democratic Party: The Democratic Party has some soul searching to do. Every single endorsed state-wide candidate in the primary suffered defeat on what was a brutal day for the establishment.
Progressives: With the exception of Jorge Elorza, the progressives in Rhode Island didn't have a very good day on Tuesday. On the top of the Democratic ticket is Gina Raimondo, who is known for pension reform, and the party's Lieutenant Governor candidate is Dan McKee, the state's champion of charter schools. Further, state representative and progressive hero Maria Cimini also suffered defeat.
David Cicilline: It may be a surprise to some to see the Congressman on this list after having won by a 25 point margin. But given that fact that his opponent, Matt Fecteau spent just $5,000 and managed to pull in almost 40 percent of the vote, Cicilline's support doesnt' seem as strong as it did two years ago, when he beat a much better financed candidate in Anthony Gemma by a larger margin.
Clay Pell: Money can cure many ills in politics. But internal polls from the gubernatorial campaigns had Pell polling at about 17 percent in March. He went on to spend $3.4 million dollars and only bumped up his final tally by an additional 10 percent. Yikes!
Guillaume De Ramel: De Ramel loaned himsef and spent roughly $900,000 in his bid to become the Rhode Island's next Secretary of State. He had a broad coalition of union and business leaders, yet still managed to come up short in the election. Let De Ramel's tale be a warning against playing strictly an inside game while ignoring Joe and Jane Six Pack.
Related Slideshow: Winners and Losers on Primary Day
The 2014 Rhode Island primaries has upsets and delivered a number of winners and losers. Take a look.
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