Big RI names circling Cicilline's exit; here's who's staking out a possible run

PROVIDENCE – It may be weeks before the race for the open seat in Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District takes shape, but two of the biggest names in the potential candidate mix are staking out their ground.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and former CVS top executive Helena Foulkes, who ran a close second to Gov. Dan McKee in last year's gubernatorial race, both issued statements Tuesday reaffirming their interest in the seat U.S. Rep. David Cicilline is resigning mid-term to take a $650,000 job with the Rhode Island Foundation.

Who might run for CD1?:With Cicilline stepping down, who might run for RI's 1st Congressional District seat?

Could House Speaker Shekarchi run for CD1?

In a statement a week ahead of his annual fundraiser in Washington, Shekarchi said: “My position hasn’t changed, that I am exploring all options. However, I am encouraged by the number of people who have approached me and offered their support.

"I won’t base my decision on who else might be running, but who is the best person to serve the people of Rhode Island. I enjoy a good relationship with the other members of the congressional delegation, and based on my experience, I am confident I could hit the ground running in Washington should I decide to become a candidate.”

(Shekarchi's March 8 fundraiser at the Laborers International Headquarters in Washington is being co-hosted by all four Democrats in R.I.'s congressional delegation: Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives Seth Magaziner and Cicilline. His history with Whitehouse goes back to the early 1990s when they were both were on then-Gov. Bruce Sundlun's staff.)

For the record, Shekarchi could not use the $1.7 million already in his war chest — or his haul from the March 8 fundraiser — for a congressional run, but he could take steps to ask his backers to redirect their earlier contributions into a federal account.

Could Helena Foulkes run for CD1?

Foulkes, the former top CVS executive who placed a close second to Gov. Dan McKee in last year's race for governor, reaffirmed her interest.

Her former campaign spokeswoman, Audrey Lucas, issued what she described as a "non-update update" that said:

“Helena has spent the last several days having conversations with Rhode Islanders about how she can best serve the people of our state. She is seriously exploring a run for Congress."

Who else might be in the field?

At least two of the three potential Latina candidates in Congressional District 1 have been to Washington and back this week. Neither has confirmed whether they tried to line up support and financial commitments from groups such as the small but active cadre of Latino advocacy groups that supported then-Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea in her bid for governor.

Gorbea has not responded to Journal inquiries about her own reported efforts to broker peace among the potential Latina candidates.

But there are at least three Latina office-holders who have expressed in running for the seat that will open in June, when Cicilline officials resigns: Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera and state Sen. Sandra Cano, who chairs the Senate Education Committee.

Cano has confirmed a visit to Washington on Monday to scope out potential support, as well as her earlier attendance at a gathering of Latino elected officials organized by Gorbea – who urged the three women to keep talking to one another about the prospects if one or all three get into the race.

Having just recently given birth to her second child, Cano, D-Pawtucket, said she can contemplate a run for Congress because she has a strong support system, and she noted that no one asked freshman U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner how he would manage after his son was born in October.

Matos has also confirmed a visit to Washington this week. She tweeted a photo of herself that said: "Diversity, equity and inclusion have always been at the center of the Biden-Harris administration, and I'm honored to be @WhiteHouse today celebrating #BlackHistoryMonth."

Asked if she spoke to anyone in the D.C. political world about potential backing for a CD1 run, her spokesman, David Folcarelli, said: "Not to my knowledge."

But Cicilline had no sooner announced his intention to resign when Matos' senior advisor Erlin Rogel tweeted:

"Gee, a fed delegation in desperate need of diversity – I wonder who? Preferably a woman, ideally a woman of color, with name ID and a proven track record of statewide success up and down the CD1 corridor and of shattering every glass ceiling that’s dared stood in her way. Hmm, who?"

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Will Shekarchi, Helena Foulkes run for David Cicilline's seat?