Republican David A. Quiroa has withdrawn from the race for Rhode Island Senate District 13, which covers all of Jamestown and most of Newport, announcing he will not file a declaration of candidacy for the seat.
“I will be starting a new professional chapter the first week of July, and I simply will not have the time required to dedicate to a proper, full-scale campaign,” Quiroa said in a statement. He called it a difficult decision, saying the state “desperately needs to be fixed” and criticizing the political leaders who have governed Rhode Island in recent decades.
Quiroa pointed to the state’s housing and energy costs as central concerns, arguing that housing has been priced out of reach for many residents of Aquidneck Island and the surrounding communities and that energy bills have risen sharply in recent years. He urged “common-sense, center-minded individuals” to run for office.
The seat is held by Democratic Sen. Dawn Euer, who filed her declaration of candidacy for re-election on Monday. Quiroa’s campaign called on Independents and Republicans to step up and challenge the incumbent to protect the communities of Newport and Jamestown.
The decision marks the end of a series of campaigns Quiroa waged against Euer. He challenged her for the District 13 seat in both 2022 and 2024, losing each time by roughly a 70-30 margin, and he had also run unsuccessfully for the Rhode Island House in 2018, when he lost to then-Rep. Marvin Abney. A longtime Newport resident who spent years working at the New York Yacht Club before a second career with Cranston’s Department of Senior Services, Quiroa ran on a platform centered on the economy, affordable housing and tax relief for homeowners.
Quiroa’s campaign also emphasized what it described as a political imbalance in the General Assembly, noting that Democrats hold 34 of 38 seats in the state Senate and 64 of 75 seats in the House. The campaign argued that electing at least 13 Republican senators and 26 state representatives is necessary to check the Democratic supermajority.
“This fall, let’s stop the siege,” Quiroa said. “Let’s make RI right.”
The declaration of candidacy filing period runs June 22 through 24, with a deadline of 4 p.m. on June 24.
