The incumbent advantage is alive and well in Rhode Island, where sitting Democratic state lawmakers overwhelmingly triumphed in primary races Tuesday. 

Except for Democratic Rep. Ed Cardillo Jr., who narrowly lost his reelection bid in the three-way primary to represent House District 42 to progressive challenger Kelsey Coletta.

All results are preliminary and unofficial, with mail ballots and those turned into polling place drop boxes still being counted over the next week, according to a tentative schedule from the Rhode Island Board of Elections.

The closest primary came down to 31 votes, in which Coletta ousted Cardillo for the seat representing parts of Cranston and Johnston. Coletta first challenged Cardillo for the seat in the 2022 primary, losing by roughly 80 votes.

What made the second go-round different?

“I had a lot of support and I started a lot earlier,” Coletta said, gathering with fellow Democratic representatives at Lemongrass restaurant in Warwick to celebrate. “I am their neighbor, I understand what they’re struggling with. I understand what it’s like to live in this world, in our state, in Johnston and Cranston.”

Coletta will square off against Republican Richard Fascia in the November general election.

Cardillo, a two-term representative, declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday night. His nephew, Dennis Cardillo Jr., was also in the race, and finished a distant third.

In contrast, Democratic Providence Rep. Enrique Sanchez had no trouble winning a second term in House District 9, which lacks a Republican opponent, despite an accusation-riddled race against challengers Anastacia Williams and Santos Javier. Sanchez drew more than 50% of the vote, drawing nearly twice as much support as Javier. Williams, who held the seat for 20 years before being ousted by Sanchez in 2022, finished third. 

“I just want to thank the voters of House District 9 for reelecting us to continue working hard for them and fighting for strong progressive policies and initiatives at the State House,” Sanchez said in an interview Tuesday night. 

Complaints by all three candidates against their opponents alleging mail ballot tampering, ethical violations and sign stealing, among others, remain under review by various state and local agencies, including Providence police. Sanchez declined to comment on the complaints and investigations.

“We’ll let the authorities handle it,” he said.

Senate President Ruggerio easily defeats challenger

Meanwhile, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio is poised to reach the 40-year-mark in the Rhode Island Senate after handily defeating progressive challenger Lenny Cioe with 70% of the vote. There is no Republican challenger.

Ruggerio was strongly favored to win the Senate District 4 primary representing North Providence, despite health issues that kept him away from the State House for a large chunk of the legislative session. Ruggerio also did not attend his scheduled watch party at Knights of Columbus Dillon Council event venue in North Providence Tuesday night, according to Greg Pare, a Senate spokesperson.

In a statement Tuesday night, Ruggerio called his reelection “a tremendous honor,” thanking voters, and supporters who volunteered on his campaign.

“I have been overwhelmed by the support of so many people who helped our campaign while I have been recovering from my temporary health challenge,” Ruggerio said. “I recently had a procedure that successfully addressed complications from the shingles virus, and I am presently at home recuperating. While the surgery was successful and I am feeling better every day, I have been advised by my doctors to stay out of crowded spaces for the time being.”

He continued, “I look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with residents and colleagues across government to address the challenges facing our State and to making Rhode Island an even greater place to live and work.”

Ruggerio’s supporters included a mix of likely faces as well as a few surprises, including progressive Providence Democratic Sen. Tiara Mack.

Mack, who said in an interview Monday that she canvassed for Ruggerio once during the summer, is unopposed in her reelection bid, a status shared by more than half of the 104 state legislators vying for another term. (Nine legislators are not seeking reelection). 

Who’s backing who

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who is running unopposed in both the primary and general election, gathered with Democratic representatives at Lemongrass restaurant in Warwick to celebrate their wins and watch the presidential debate.

Shekarchi, a top fundraiser whose name has surfaced in discussions of the 2026 governor’s race, spent Tuesday afternoon traveling the state to stump for lawmakers facing reelection. Among his stops: Providence’s House District 11, where 20-year incumbent Rep. Grace Diaz faced a challenge from Tania Quezada, who served on Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s transition team.

Diaz held on to her seat by a more than 20-percentage-point margin over Quezada.

Shekarchi also planned to stop in Westerly to help Rep. Samuel Azzinaro, who for the first time since winning office in 2008, had a primary challenger in Jonathan Daly-LaBelle. Azzinaro drew nearly twice as many votes in the House District 37 primary, securing his spot in the State House because there is no Republican opponent.

“They have competitive races, and I want to show support for my team,” Shekarchi said in an interview Tuesday afternoon. “They are long-standing members of the House, and they are good Democrats.”

Shekarchi stressed that his support was forged in personal relationships, not politics. For example, the moderate Warwick Democrat gave $1,000 to Rep. Cherie Cruz in her reelection bid for Pawtucket’s House District 58, where Cruz faced a challenge from mayoral-backed candidate Elizabeth Moreira.

Cruz, a progressive elected in 2022, successfully fended off Moreira by a 20-percentage point margin, thanks in part to the backing of the Rhode Island Working Families Party. No Republican candidate entered the race.

Progressive strategy

Having secured major wins for its endorsed candidates in past elections, the progressive group chose to focus on just four primary races this year, two of which were for incumbents facing establishment-backed challengers. In addition to Cruz, the group also worked to help Rep. Brandon Potter stave off a challenge from Democrat Joseph Graziano in House District 16.

Potter, a two-term incumbent, has alleged that Ruggerio recruited Graziano to run against him as retaliation over policy disagreements, allegations which Graziano and Ruggerio have both denied. Potter ultimately trounced Graziano with more than 75% of the vote Tuesday night. Potter will still have to defeat Republican Deborah Leong in November.

Potter declined to comment when reached by phone Tuesday night, saying he planned to issue a statement on results in the morning.

Georgia Hollister Isman, New England regional director for the Working Families Party, expressed confidence in both incumbents’ chances in an interview Tuesday morning.

“That’s a bad political call on their part,” Hollister Isman said of the decision to challenge Cruz and Potter, both of whom are popular with fellow lawmakers and with voters.

The Working Families Party also backed Coletta in the House District 64 race, and Giona Picheco, a progressive challenger to Rep. Charlene Lima in House District 14. Lima, a three-decade veteran of the Rhode Island State House, won her reelection campaign, capturing more than 55% of the votes cast.

Hollister Isman touted wins among three of the four priority candidates in a statement Tuesday night.

“Voters want what they’re fighting for: better wages and benefits, more affordable housing and healthcare, quality schools and childcare for all Rhode Island kids, and a government that is run not by political insiders or corporate lobbyists, but by people who know firsthand what their districts need,” Hollister Isman said. “Working Families Democrats are standing up for the people of their districts, even in the face of powerful opposition, and that is political strength, not a weakness.”

Wide open

Cranston’s Republican mayoral primary was perhaps the biggest news of an otherwise sleepy, low-turnout primary. But Cranston Democrats also had tough decisions to make, including for the open seat in Senate District 28, held by Sen. Josh Miller. Miller opted not to run for reelection, creating an opportunity in a liberal stronghold that drew no Republican contenders.

Cranston City Council Vice President Lammis Vargas beat runner-up Darrell Brown by 101 votes in the five-way primary representing parts of Cranston and Providence. She celebrated the win with family and friends at Ted’s Stadium Pub in Cranston.

“The voters of Cranston and Providence have put their faith in my strong track record and leadership experience to deliver results and continue fighting for District 28,” Vargas said in a statement Tuesday night. “This was a close primary race amongst five stellar candidates, and I am grateful to them, as well as the voters who turned out to the polls, and the unions and elected officials who put their support behind my candidacy.”

Two other open seats in the Rhode Island Senate featured three Democratic candidates. 

In Senate District 20, vacated by Sen. Roger Picard, Woonsocket City Councilor Brian Thompson came out on top with two-thirds of ballots cast. The Senate District 25 seat left vacant after Sen. Frank Lombardo III died in February was claimed, at least in the primary, by Andrew Dimitri. Dimitri will now face Republican Karin Gorman in the general election.

In East Providence and Pawtucket, the open House District 64 seat held by two-term Rep. Brianna Henries was easily claimed by Jenni Furtado. Furtado, chair of the East Providence School Committee, bested fellow Democrat Ashley Pereira with more than double the support among voters. There is no Republican candidate.

Other state races decided Tuesday, with no Republican opponent in November, included:

• House District 51: Rep. Robert Phillips will serve an eighth term representing voters in Woonsocket and Cumberland after beating challenger Garrett Mancieri.
• House District 57: Rep. Brandon Voas secured a second term after beating Democratic challenger Raiden Phoenix Witt for the seat representing Cumberland and Central Falls.
• Senate District 14: Senate Majority Whip Valarie Lawson easily defeated challenger Brian Gary Coogan for the seat representing East Providence. 
• Senate District 37: Incumbent Rep. V. Susan Sosnowski handily won her reelection bid against challenger Anita Norton Jacobson in South Kingstown. 

Two other Democratic primaries decided Tuesday set up challenges against Republican incumbents in November. 

In Senate District 17, Cameron Deutsch defeated Alexander Azar in the primary spanning parts of Lincoln, North Providence and Smithfield. Deutsch will now face Republican incumbent Sen. Thomas Paolino in the general election.

In Warwick’s Senate District 29, Peter Appollonio Jr. defeated Jennifer Rourke, advancing him to the November ballot against Republican incumbent Sen. Anthony DeLuca.

The Rhode Island Board of Elections expects to finish tallying results by Sept. 16.

The general election is Nov. 5.

Reporter Chris Shea contributed to this story.

With very few contested races on the ballot, Rhode Island’s state and local primary races didn’t drive voters to the polls in droves. 

Just before polls closed at 8 p.m. there were 77,376 votes cast, representing just over 9.9% of the more than 781,000 total registered voters.

Results are preliminary and unofficial, with final counts including remaining mail ballots and those from overseas and military voters expected by Sept. 18, according to the Rhode Island Board of Elections.

By comparison, turnout was 14.5% during the 2020 primary and 16.9% in 2022 — though the latter also saw a close gubernatorial race and contested primaries for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.

Tuesday’s low turnout was expected, said Providence College Associate Professor of Political Science Adam Myers.

“In this state we’re so used to not having competitive races that folks just kind of dive into the habit of not voting in primaries,” he told Rhode Island Current. “There’s very little going on — I don’t blame people for not turning out today.”

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, offered a more optimistic take on the quiet polling places in his district. 

“I think a lot of people voted early or voted by mail,” Shekarchi said in an interview Tuesday afternoon.

Shekarchi is among the 57 sitting legislators (out of 113 seats) without a primary or general election challenge this year. Only 18 legislative races featured primary contests, all Democratic. 

Overshadowing the primary races for many voters — and candidates — was the presidential debate.

Pam Leary, one of three Democrats vying for the open seat in Senate District 25 in Johnston, said in an interview Monday that she planned to host family and friends to her home, not to watch election results, but to catch the debate.

Several political watch parties, including one organized by Shekarchi at Lemongrass restaurant in Warwick, promised double features of election results and the debate. Shekarchi provided reporters with election results while holding a stick of beef teriyaki.

“To me, it means people are satisfied with the status quo,” he said in an interview at his watch party.

Before enjoying the festivities, Shekarchi first had to fit in an appearance at the Warwick Zoning Board of Review on behalf of one his law practice clients.

Myers, meanwhile, said the debate should have had the opposite effect.

“One would hope that would spur people to vote,” he said.

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Reps. Gabe Amo and Seth Magaziner ran unopposed in their respective primaries, as did their Republican challengers — Allen Waters and Steven Corvi. 

There was slightly more action in the races for the U.S. Senate, with state Rep. Patricia Morgan of West Warwick besting former Warwick City Administrator Raymond McKay in the Republican primary. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse easily fended off a challenge from Michael Costa, a former Republican who briefly ran for governor in 2022, in the Democratic race. 

“But that was kind of in the bag for Whitehouse,” Myers said. “There was nothing really on that ballot that was going to drive people to the polls.”

The exception: Cranston, which had a very heated Republican mayoral primary, in addition to a pair of a trio of contested state legislative primary races. Unaffiliated voters were forced to choose between casting ballots in the Republican mayoral primary or participating in one or more Democratic legislative matchups, such as House District 14, or 16, and Senate District 28. 

Rhode Island’s second largest city led the state in turnout with 10,455 ballots cast by the time polls closed, representing 18.7% of the city’s 56,000 active, registered voters.

Mail ballots rule in Providence 

Providence led the mail ballot front, with 2,201 ballots received by Tuesday night, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office.

The prevalence of mail ballots in the capital city was the key strategy for Democratic Rep. Enrique Sanchez in his reelection bid for House District 9 against challengers Anastacia Williams and Santos Javier.

“We were able to flip a lot of voters,” Sanchez told Rhode Island Current while campaigning on Cranston Street in Providence at 10:30 a.m. “I’d go to people’s houses before their ballots were sent out and told people about me and they told me they’d change their votes.”

But the strategy wasn’t without controversy, as complaints by all three candidates accused opponents of alleged mail ballot tampering. Complaints lodged with state and local agencies, including Providence Police and the Rhode Island Board of Elections, remained under investigation as of Tuesday.

More than 11,000 mail ballots statewide were submitted to the Board of Elections — which had processed roughly 90% of those votes as of 3 p.m., said Robert Quinn, who oversees mail ballots and voter registration.

Low turnout didn’t make tabulation easier, though, said Quinn.

“We still have to go through the same steps all the way through,” he said. “It’s still the same carousel here — still the same long two to three weeks.”

The general election will be held on Nov. 5.

Senior Reporter Nancy Lavin contributed to this story.

The prospect of winter utility rate hikes drew sharp criticism Monday night from residents, activists, and elected officials, who blasted Rhode Island Energy for its proposed gas and electric rates during a public hearing.

The nearly-two-hour-long hearing held at the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission’s Warwick offices comes less than a month before the commission’s scheduled vote on winter electric rates, which take effect Oct. 1, along with annual natural gas rates, which take effect Nov. 1. 

Rhode Island Energy, the primary supplier of electricity and natural gas for residents and businesses, has proposed higher rates for both electricity and gas supply compared with current, summer prices, as is typical during colder months.

If approved, the average residential customer would see their monthly electric bill increase 23.4%, or $32.16, starting Oct. 1. The average residential gas bill would increase $41.72 per year.

Business and industrial customers would also see their bills rise, with the increase dependent upon usage.

The proposed electric rates are slightly less than last winter, while rising natural gas supply costs will be slightly offset by a monthly bill credit due to accounting errors in the previous year, according to filings with state regulators.

But critics remain unconvinced by the argument that market demand and availability — not company profits — are driving the increases, despite state regulations that prevent the private utility provider from profiting off the power it buys from third-party suppliers.

“Not only is it cruel, it just doesn’t make sense that people are putting profit over people’s lives,” Lee Wilder said during the hearing. “Rhode Island already has the second highest electricity rates in the country. What are we going for, first?”

Wilder was among the dozen community activists who donned T-shirts signifying their participation in local community organizing efforts through the George Wiley Center and the Rhode Island Poor People’s Campaign. Both groups have pushed for a state policy change known as the Percentage Income Payment Plan, which would create a discount plan in which low-income ratepayers – earning less than 150% of federal poverty guidelines –  pay 3% to 6% of their income on gas and electricity. The proposal, modeled after similar policies in more than a dozen states, is a perennial fixture at the Rhode Island State House but has failed to gain traction in either chamber despite support from a handful of lawmakers, including Providence Democratic Rep. David Morales.

“In the grand scheme of affordability and cost of living, this is pushing people into utility debt, this is pushing people into losing service, and worst of all, this is pushing people into housing instability and eventually becoming homeless,” Morales said Monday.

Heartbreaking stories about rising rents, medical costs and child care featured prominently in testimony Monday.

Pawtucket resident Ubaldo Quintero said he already had his utilities shut off, after losing his job during the pandemic. Quintero’s wife has disabilities and requires electricity as part of her care.

“I don’t want to have to choose between eating and paying for services,” Quintero said, speaking through an interpreter.

College student Daisy Paz also lamented the obstacles to her education if she can’t afford to keep paying for electricity.

“I want to continue my studies, but I don’t have the money to pay for rate increases,” Paz said.

At the same time as the review of proposed rate hikes, state regulators are considering changes to the way rates are calculated including a model in which monthly costs fluctuate rather than stay flat for a six-month period.

Nicholas Vaz, special assistant attorney general to Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, in an Aug. 23 memo to state regulators, stressed the need to consider state decarbonization mandates under the Act on Climate Law if rate design and calculations are changed. Vaz also acknowledged the impact of proposed winter rate hikes on residents.

“As noted above, the LRS rates being considered in this docket are the result of pass-through supply costs, and the Company is not permitted to profit on supply,” Vaz wrote. “Still, this is of no comfort to Rhode Islanders who face increased bills each month during the winter period, just as they have in years past.”

The proposed electric rate hikes also do not account for refunds from a $25 million overcollection in 2023. Details of how the refund will be distributed are still being finalized.

State regulators will review and approve proposed winter electric and gas rates at a later meeting which has not been scheduled as of Tuesday.

Customers in seven municipalities — Barrington, Central Falls, Narragansett, Newport, Portsmouth, Providence, and South Kingstown — can opt out of the Rhode Island Energy electric prices and participate instead in a community aggregation plan that leverages bulk buying power to secure lower-priced electricity for its residents.