Politics as usual. What does that mean? Almost two-thirds of state legislative races in Rhode Island are uncontested, and legislative leaders in both houses are raking in the dollars.
The number of uncontested general election legislative races in Rhode Island far exceeds the percentage of uncontested legislative races nationally.
According to Ballotpedia, an unofficial encyclopedia of American politics, 35 percent of incumbents running for legislative seats nationally are unopposed. There are 5,807 state legislative seats up for election in 44 states on November 5, with 1,650 incumbents uncontested.
In Rhode Island, a review of the 38 state Senate races and 75 House of Representative races found some 63 percent of the races uncontested, equal in both the House and Senate.
Contested races in the Newport County area include Senate District 10 (Tiverton, Warren) with incumbent Walter S. Felag, Jr., Democrat opposed by Republican Allyn E. Meyers; Senate District 13 (Newport, Jamestown) with incumbent Dawn Euer, Democrat, opposed by Republican David A. Quiroa; House District 70 (Tiverton) with incumbent John G. Edwards, Democrat, opposed by Christopher M. Borden, Republican.
That’s three contested legislative positions of the area’s 10 legislative seats.
Uncontested Senate races: Senator Linda Ujifusa, D-Dist. 11, Bristol Portsmouth; and Senator Louis DiPalma, D-Dist. 12, Little Compton, Middletown.
In the House, running unopposed are Representative Michelle E. McGaw, D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton; Representative Terri-Denise Cortvriend, D-Dist. 72, Middletown, Portsmouth; Representative Marvin Abney, D-Dist. 73, Middletown, Newport; Representative Alex S. Finkelman, D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown; and Representative Lauren Carson, D-Dist. 75, Newport.
Abney, who chairs the House’s Finance Committee, is among the legislature’s best fundraisers, reporting $255,933.
Those numbers will change. They represent the first two quarters of 2024, a period ending at the end of June, and not reported until the end of July. The next quarter ends at the end of September, but likely reported in early October, since candidates are required to post latest fundraising reports 30 days before the election.
In the contested races, the incumbent has a wide margin financially. Felag, according to his campaign finance reports, has $64,856 in his campaign fund as of the end of June, and his opponent, Meyers, has $3,162. Euer reported $53,626 in her campaign account, while her opponent Quiroa reported $58. Edwards, the majority floor manager in the House, reported $91,800 in his account, while his opponent, Borden, reported $720.
Campaign funds can only be used for a candidate’s own election, donated to other candidates or charity, or returned to donors. They cannot be used for personal purposes. If raised for a state account, they cannot be used in a federal race, and funds raised for a federal race cannot be used for a state race.
Here are the most robust fundraisers in the legislature:
- Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi, Speaker of the House, $2,826,302. He’s unopposed.
- Abney, House finance chair, $255,933.
- Rep. Christopher R. Blazejewski, $305,592, D-Providence, House majority leader. He’s unopposed.
- Rep. Raymond Hull, D-Dist., 6, Providence, Deputy Speaker, $164,513. He’s unopposed.
- Rep. Charlene Lima, D-Dist. 14, Providence. She’s unopposed.
- Rep. Jacquelyn M. Baginski, D-Dist. 17, Providence, chair of the House Innovation, Internet and Technology committee, $154,100. She’s unopposed.
- Rep. Joseph J. Solomon, Jr., D-Dist. 22, Warwick, $214,115. He’s opposed by Republican David Stone, who reported $712 in his campaign account.
- Rep. Katherine Sheena Kazarian, D-Dist. 63, House majority whip. She’s unopposed.
- Senate President Dominick Joseph Ruggerio, D-Dist. 4, $203,571. He was opposed in the primary election, but not in the general election.
- Senate Majority Leader Ryan W. Pearson, D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cumberland, $130,823. He is facing two independents in the general election, Amanda J. Blais and James N. McLaughlin, neither of which reported any balance in their campaign finance accounts.
- Senator David Peter Tikoian, D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, Lincoln, North Providence. He’s unopposed.
- Senator Hanna Gallo, D-Dist. 27, Cranston, Senate President Pro Tempore. She’s unopposed.
Totally, at the end of the second quarter, candidates report $7,546,343 in campaign finance accounts.
