The nearly three dozen declared candidates for the now vacant first U.S. House of Representative seat in Rhode Island face a series of deadlines that should substantially reduce the field. The first is picking up nomination papers over the next couple of days and returning them to their local Boards of Canvassers by July 14, with the necessary 500 signatures.

Candidates must file their second-quarter financial reports with the Federal Election Commission the following day. 

Both dates are highly significant. If a candidate fails to accumulate the necessary number of qualified signatures, they cannot qualify to be on the ballot. The second date, financial filing, will indicate whether a candidate can be competitive financially, a vital sign of whether a candidate has the resources for what is likely to be an expensive race.

The special primary election is Sept. 5; the general election is Nov. 7.

What may not show up in the financials is a candidate’s ability to self-fund his or her campaign, and there are candidates with the wherewithal to do that.

Of the 35 candidates only four had reported receipts to the FEC for the first quarter, ending March 31. Gabe Amo, a former White House, and Governor Raimondo staffer, has recently distributed a press release, claiming to have raised more than $450,000 from more than 1,000 unique donors for the quarter ending June 30.

Those reporting receipts to the FEC for the first quarter were Democrats: Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, $126,782; State Senator Sandro Cano, D-Pawtucket, $122,640; Nicholas Autiello, $104,330; and John Goncalves, $39,549.

The deadline for filing second-quarter results is July 15.

Reviewing candidates’ websites disclose that most, if not all, share the same qualities: They’ve faced great hardship to get where they are, even if that included attending expensive private high schools; their experience in and out of government, in private industry, makes them uniquely qualified for the positions; and they have grit and determination.

What’sUpNewp has invited all the candidates to appear on a half-hour videocast at which they will be able to present themselves to voters and answer questions about their candidacy and past accomplishments. WUN is in the process of scheduling the videocasts.

Here’s a complete list of candidates who filed by the declaration deadline:

Democrats:

  • Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos
  • State Senator Sandra Cano of Pawtucket
  • Nicholas Autiello, a former member of Gov. Gina Raimondo’s commerce team
  • Providence Councilman John Goncalves
  • Allen Waters, who ran for the same seat last time as a Republican.
  • Aaron Regunberg, former state legislator, who has run for lieutenant governor.
  • State Senator Ana Quezada of Providence
  • State Senator Stephen Casey of Woonsocket
  • Michael Tillinghast, welder, and machinist
  • Donald Carlson, senior executive director of the Tsai Leadership Program at Yale University
  • Gabriel Amo, former deputy director of the White House Office of intergovernmental affairs and a former staffer with former Gov. Gina Raimondo
  • Walter Berbrick, former Naval War College Professor
  • State Rep. Marvin Abney, district 73, House Finance Chair
  • Stephanie Beaute, senior program manager, ran for Secretary of State in 2022
  • Mickeda Sebastiana Barners, a former RIPTA bus driver
  • Spencer Dickinson, former legislator 
  • Larry Hutchinson, Jr.
  • Paul LeBon, who has faced harassment charges in Rhode Island and Texas, and was a nominee for Congress in Texas in 2002
  • Gregory Mundy
  • Bella Noka, a Narragansett Elder
  • Tony Sfameni, 
  • Gary Donald Fagnant
  • Kathleen Gaskell

Republicans:

  • Gerry Leonard, operations manager
  • William LeBron, Jr., for state Representative in 2020
  • Middletown Councilwoman Terri Flynn

Independents:

  • Stephen G. Earle
  • Joseph Israel Jean-Philippe
  • Jeffrey Lemire, ran for Congress in 2016
  • Richard P. O’Shea
  • Paul Rianna, Jr., ran for Governor as an independent in 2018.
  • John Dale Ritchie, previously ran for state Senator and Congress
  • Julian J. Smith
  • John S. Vitkevich, a realtor
  • CD Reynolds

*Information included here was developed from what was readily available online. There’s a mix of candidates with and without websites, where most of the information was obtained.