Some 15 candidates – 13 Democrats and two Republicans, have qualified to appear on the primary election ballot for the U.S. House District 1 seat. The Secretary of State’s office will hold a lottery for ballot placement tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5 p.m. for the September 5 primary election.
Initially, 35 individuals had declared their candidacies, 23 Democrats, three Republicans, nine Independents. No Independents collected enough signatures to appear on the General Election ballot.
In spite of an “investigation” into signatures collected in Jamestown for Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, only one signature was disqualified, leaving Matos with 728 valid signatures, well above the required 500, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Candidates also were required to file their second quarter financial reports to the Federal Elections Commission. The following candidates qualified for the ballot. The listing includes their latest financial report to the FEC.
- Aaron Regunberg, former state legislator, who ran for lieutenant governor – 923 signatures, $470,665.
- State Senator Sandro Cano of Pawtucket – 889 signatures, $264,151.
- Gabriel Amo, former deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental affairs and former staffer with Gov. Gina Raimondo – 637 signatures, $462,553.
- Providence Councilman John Goncalves – 626 signatures, $140,168.
- State Senator Ana Quezado of Providence – 605 signatures, $71,365.
- Former state legislator Spencer Dickinson – 556 signatures, no financial report listed.
- Allen Waters, who ran in 2020 as a Republican for the same seat – 574 signatures, “no processed data,” according to the FEC.
- Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos – 728 signatures, $338,504.
- Democrat Nicholas Autiello, a former member of Governor Raimondo’s commerce team – 605 signatures, $226,585.
- Democrat Donald Carlson, senior executive director of the Tsai Leadership Program at Yale University – 758 signatures, $913,406.
- Middletown Councilwoman Terri Flynn, a Republican – 607 signatures, no financial report listed by the FEC.
- Republican Gerry Leonard, an operations manager – 89 signatures, $31,937.
- State Senator Stephen Casey of Woonsocket, a democrat – 782 signatures, $49,557.
- Democrat Walter Berbrick, a former Naval War College Professor – 800 signatures, $147,812.
- Democrat Stephanie Beaute, senor program manager, ran for Secretary of State in 2022 – 742 signatures, $6,201.
The next deadline for candidates is July 19, the deadline to withdraw from the race. The primary election is scheduled for September 5, and the special general election for November 7.
