by Nolan Page, Rhode Island Current
July 21, 2026
How would you pitch Rhode Island to a space alien? That was the question that wrapped up Tuesday’s lieutenant governor forum with four Democrats seeking the office.
Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos and three of her four Democratic challengers, Sue AnderBois, Xaykham “Xay” Khamsyvoravong and Cindy Coyne, offered a range of answers — cultural diversity, natural beauty, delicious food, sense of community— highlighting what makes Rhode Island special to them. It was a whimsical conclusion to the hourlong discussion of issues the candidates would prioritize if elected to an office considered the understudy to the state’s chief executive officer.
The winner of the Sept. 9 Democratic primary will go on to face the lone Republican candidate, John Loughlin, in the Nov. 3 general election.
The forum that aired at noon on WPRO 630 AM was the first summer gathering for lieutenant governor candidates, giving them a chance to present their views for what host Bill Bartholomew called an “entrepreneurial office.” It was recorded Monday morning.
Democratic candidate Ross McCurdy did not participate. He told Rhode Island Current he had not received an invitation, adding he was also not invited when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2022.
Bartholomew said in an interview that extends invitations to candidates he believes have a viable chance on the ballot to avoid overwhelming voters.
“What serves the voter best is providing as much detail and information about those who are likely to be an elected official in their future,” Bartholomew said.
All four participants confidently said they were ready to fill the lieutenant governor’s one chief role: To replace the governor should they “die, remove from the state, refuse to serve; become insane, or be otherwise incapacitated.” But outside of that duty, the office only has 18 other statutory responsibilities, according to a count from the National Governors Association. That leaves officeholders with an opportunity to shape the role with their own entrepreneurial spirit.
Matos has already executed her take on the lieutenant governorship for the past five years. She replaced then-Lt. Gov. Dan McKee, who became governor after Gina Raimondo left to be former President Joe Biden’s commerce secretary. McKee was the seventh lieutenant governor in state history to take over the higher office, according to a 2021 Boston Globe analysis.
Since taking office in 2021, Matos has championed legislation providing more affordable and accessible groceries. The lieutenant governor plays an important role in initiating legislation in the state’s General Assembly, and Matos has backed a series of bills aimed to lower prices and increase grocery store competition.
“I had people telling me this was not an important issue, nobody cares about grocery,” Matos said. “Guess what? Everybody now is talking about grocery and affordability.”
Only one of the four core bills in her “Fair Price Grocery Agenda” passed the General Assembly in the 2026 session. The legislation (H8106/S2644) signed into law by McKee on June 18 bars supermarket chains from binding real estate with restrictive covenants preventing the development of other retailers selling fresh food and other groceries on the site. McKee held a ceremonial signing alongside Matos in Woonsocket on July 1.
The bills were part of Matos’ prioritization of small businesses in the state, which she argues will help fight soaring prices. Exploitative corporations are largely to blame for unaffordable prices, she said Tuesday.
“The number one reason is corporate greed,” Matos said. “Capitalism has to work for more people.”
Khamsyvoravong also placed an emphasis on small businesses at the forum, but did so through a different lens. With artificial intelligence set to reshape economies across the world, the Newport city councilor and former mayor said Rhode Island needed to ensure “small businesses and employees are in the driver’s seat” to keep earning a fair living.
“Focusing on workforce is the best way we can help raise people’s incomes and make sure we tackle the affordability crisis that we’re facing today,” Khamsyvoravong said.
To do that, Khamsyvoravong suggested every student in the state’s schools should be encouraged to graduate with both an academic degree and a certification in a technical skillset, which would help “future-proof” the workforce.
The state is facing another crisis, Khamsyvoravong said: Rhode Island is short about 300 primary care physicians. Physicians in the state are paid less than their peers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and Health Insurance Commissioner Cory King’s office mandated insurers to spend more on primary care. Matos said at the forum that primary care doctors are retiring because of the way large corporations “are handling healthcare right now.”
Khamsyvoravong’s wife lost her primary care doctor, he said Tuesday, and it took her almost a year to find a new one.
“The reality is that that ‘I know a guy situation’ doesn’t work anymore in Rhode Island,” Khamsyvoravong said. “We need to be attacking this with the same level of urgency that we went after addressing COVID when it first hit our state.”
Sue AnderBois, a Providence city councilor, had a similar experience. For about her first four years in the state after moving from California, AnderBois said her gynecologist acted as her primary care doctor because “there just weren’t any.”
She said she wanted to collaborate with the Long-Term Coordinating Care Council to solve policy issues and support more physicians in the state. That council is one of five on which the lieutenant governor serves as chair or member or designates a representative to fill a seat.
“I can rock a government task force,” AnderBois said. “That’s one of my very favorite things to do.”
AnderBois, who works as the regional climate and energy director for The Nature Conservancy, said she would prioritize affordable energy and clean energy initiatives and called for a new state energy plan. Rhode Islanders have a tendency to look at issues in silos, she said, but tackling energy and transportation issues would help address the broader affordability crisis.
“Those are big ticket items in people’s wallets,” AnderBois said.
Coyne, a former state senator from Barrington and a retired Rhode Island State Police trooper, fell in line with the other candidate’s concerns about affordability in the state: “$6.99 for a bag of Doritos — my goodness.” The mother of four said three of her children are living outside of Rhode Island, unable to return because of high housing costs. Training the workforce to build more homes, encouraging intergenerational housing and developing more accessory dwelling units on properties can help lower costs, Coyne said.
Lowering the costs of healthcare can also help with affordability, Coyne added. She supported tax credits for family caregivers.
“It’s quiet. Nobody really recognizes them,” Coyne said. “They need to be given the resources, they need to be given the tools and they need to be given some sense of relief for the cost of the burden of healthcare that they take on themselves.”
Coyne said her law enforcement experience would make her an effective lieutenant governor in emergency management situations. She also wanted to improve Rhode Island’s climate for small businesses.
All four candidates agreed that Rhode Island needs more affordable housing, but didn’t have a consensus on how to make that happen. Bartholomew said he and the participants had agreed the forum would do without yes-or-no questions. He raised one anyway: Are you open-minded to statewide rent controls? The only yes came from AnderBois, who voted in favor of rent stabilization three times on the Providence City Council.
Candidates were also asked about Republican candidate John Loughlin’s plans to integrate more oversight responsibilities into the lieutenant governor position. Loughlin has centered his lieutenant governor campaign on reconstructing the position to focus on government oversight, the same role the designated for the inspector general added to this year’s state budget. The Inspector General Independent Advisory Commission met Tuesday to discuss the search to fill the inspector general position.
AnderBois and Coyne supported an independent inspector general role, with Coyne saying it could “restore the faith and trust in government” and AnderBois worried it would become politicized if integrating into the lieutenant governor’s office. Matos raised concerns about the resources a new position would require, while Khamsyvoravong was more outspoken.
“What was put forth by the Republican in this race was a bootleg version of DOGE,” he said, using an acronym for the Department of Government Efficiency launched by President Donald Trump. “I was the only candidate running on the Democratic side to call that out for the nonsense that it is.”
First quarter filings show Khamsyvoravong leading campaign fundraising with $280,339 on hand as of March 31. Of his Democratic competitors, Coyne is highest with $162,373, followed by AnderBois with $126,786, Matos with $109,223 and McCurdy with $707. Republican Loughlin has $48,166.
Second-quarter campaign finance reports are due to the Rhode Island Board of Elections by July 31.
The lieutenant governor earns an annual salary of $137,510.
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