PROVIDENCE – Comeback bids. Family feuds. At least two cops, past and present, on the hunt for legislative seats, including a major in the Cranston police department with a colorful history. And a re-run of the election-year political drama Cioe V. Ruggerio.

With a deadline of 4 p.m. Wednesday to declare candidacy, it appeared that as many as 20 seats in the 38-member Senate might go uncontested, and as many as many as 45 in the 75-member House. As of mid-day, the GOP had only mustered 35 candidates for the 113 legislative seats up for grabs this year.

Next step: the candidates need to gather enough signatures on nominating papers to qualify for the ballot.

Races to watch:

Cioe V. Ruggerio: Lenny Cioe came within 341 votes the first time he challenged Senate President Dominick Ruggerio for his seat, representing Senate District 4 on the Providence-North Providence line, and he actually beat him in some precincts.

A registered nurse, Cioe was the progressive running under the banner of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative against an old school conservative-Democrat in his 70’s.

In 2022, Ruggerio took his challenge more seriously, knocking on doors in his home district in 90-degree heat with a reminder he’d welcome every vote.

Ruggerio acknowledged he won’t be knocking on doors this year as he undergoes treatment for cancer. His health issues left him unable to attend Senate sessions for over a month late in the season.

Shekarchi v. Traversie: House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is facing Dana Traversie, the same Republican challenger he beat 60%-40% two years ago.

Other rematches to watch for:

Several defeated former lawmakers want their seats back.

They include former Rep. Justin Price, the Richmond Republican who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Price acknowledged on social media that he marched to the Capitol, but said he didn’t enter the building and blamed those affiliated with “Antifa” and “Black Lives Matter” for the violence.

Price is challenging Rep. Megan Cotter, the Democrat who beat him two years ago in House District 39 overlapping Exeter, Hopkinton, and Richmond.

Former Rep. Jean Philippe Barros is seeking to recapture the House District 59 seat, representing Pawtucket, that he lost to Rep. Jennifer Stewart.

Former Rep. James McLaughlin of Cumberland initially declared his candidacy for both a Senate seat and House and the House District 57 seat, representing Cumberland and Central Falls, that he lost to Rep. Brendan Voas – a cousin of Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson – two years ago. He filed but then withdrew his candidacy for Pearson’s Senate District 19 seat.

McLaughlin – who cannot run for both seats and will ultimately have to make a choice – was one of the most conservative Democrats in the House and is best remembered for carrying a painting of Jesus with him to House sessions to signal his views on abortion. He filed to run for both seats as an independent.

Former Rep. Bernard Hawkins, a pro-gun Democrat who voted against three major gun safety bills in 2022, is seeking to regain the Glocester-Smithfield House District 53 seat he lost two years ago to Republican Brian Rea, who is not seeking reelection.

After some teasing, Former Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt put out a statement Wednesday afternoon saying she is not running to recapture her old House seat.

Family Affairs:

Get ready for a re-run of the Family Feud: The Johnston battle between Rep. Edward T. Cardillo Jr. who won by 83 votes last time out, and his nephew, Dennis Cardillo Jr. is back on.

The two Cardillos will face each other a second time in the Democratic primary for House District 42, which covers a large swath of Johnston and a small piece of Cranston. A third, more progressive Democrat, Kelsey Coletta – the daughter of House Majority Floor Manager Rep. Jay Edwards, has also filed to run again.

Among the highlights from the 2022 race: Rep. Edward Cardillo said he hired a private investigator to conduct surveillance on his nephew to prove he was lying about living in the district, which his nephew denied Dennis Cardillo accusing his uncle of “stalking.”

The backstory: Rep. Cardillo and his brother, Dennis Cardillo, were mired for years in a bitter, highly litigious dispute over the former Cardillo Bros. scrapyard.

Open seats:

House District 15: With Republican Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung running for Cranston mayor against incumbent Ken Hopkins, Democrat Maria Bucci, who ran and lost to Hopkins four years ago, is seeking Fenton-Fung’s House District 15 seat. Republican Christopher Paplauskas, a Cranston councilman who is a close ally of Hopkins, is also running.

Senate District 26: Cranston Police Major Todd Patalano is one of the three candidates vying for the seat held by Sen. Frank Lombardi, who is not seeking reelection. Patalano is running as a Democrat; Jennifer Caputi as a Republican.

Patalano was placed on paid leave for two years and then promoted in the wake of a scandal – during then-Mayor Allan Fung’s tenure – involving the issuing of parking tickets in two wards, allegedly in retaliation for votes against a proposed police labor contract by the councilmen who represent those wards.

House District 21: With Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson bowing out, current Democratic Warwick City Councilman James McElroy is running. (His daughter, Kelly McElroy, is the chief judge of the Warwick Municipal Court.)

House District 26: With Republican Rep. Patricia Morgan seeking the GOP nod to run for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Earl Read, a retired Warwick police officer and current public school teacher; Republican Jeffrey Fisher; and Vin Marzullo, running as an Independent, are vying for the seat.

House District 64: With Rep. Brianna Henries not seeking reelection, two other Democrats have filed to run for her seat: current East Providence School Committee Chairwoman Jenni Furtado and Ashley Pereira.

Pereira agreed earlier this year to pay a $1,500 fine by July for breaches of campaign finance rules when she last ran for the seat in 2022, including use of campaign dollars for personal expenses; failures to report other expenses; and file three quarterly reports, according to a consent agreement with the Board of Elections.