Former White House aide Gabe Amo announces CD1 run

PROVIDENCE — Gabe Amo, a native son of Pawtucket, on Tuesday joined the ever-growing crowd of Democratic candidates for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District seat days after resigning his job as a special assistant in the Biden administration.

Asked why he is seeking an upfront role on the political stage after working behind the scenes in the campaigns and administrations of two U.S. presidents (Joe Biden and Barack Obama) as well as former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, Amo, 35, told The Journal:

"Because the stakes are so high."

"I know that the people need a representative who has the experience to get things done," he said in his first campaign news release.

More: Who is running for Congress in Rhode Island? The candidates so far.

“I’ve seen first-hand what’s at stake," he said. "Republicans in Congress want to cut Social Security and Medicare, ban abortion nationally, and they’re doing nothing to combat senseless gun violence and climate change or to lower costs.”

“There’s so much at stake, and that’s why I’ve left the White House to fight for the people of the 1st Congressional District," said Amo, who most recently held the titles "deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and special assistant to the president," working as Biden’s principal liaison to mayors and local elected officials.

Gabe Amo's background

Amo previously worked in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, under Obama, as a liaison to governors and state elected officials.

In between his Washington D.C. stints, Amo returned to Rhode Island to serve as Raimondo's "director of public engagement and community affairs." In that role, Amo said, he was "Raimondo’s principal advisor on outreach to businesses and labor, faith groups, local government, grassroots organizations, and communities of color."

"Our people need a representative who will deliver for them on day one," said Amo, who announced his candidacy Tuesday via a news release conveyed by former governor and current U.S. commerce secretary Raimondo's former fundraising director, Kate Ramstad, and a video.

There is no question he has an extensive Rolodex and a potential campaign donor network beyond the reach of several, if not most of the other candidates.

But as to who else he may have tapped to work with him, Amo – who is not a well-known name outside insider political circles – said he will save those announcements for another day, along with his personal stances on litmus test issues such as guns and abortion.

CD1 candidate list grows to 14 Democrats

With Amo's entry into the race there are now 14 Democratic candidates vying for the seat representing the eastern portion of the state that U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI – who was reelected to a seventh term in November – has announced he will resign on June 1 to take a $650,000 job as head of the Rhode Island Foundation.

Rhode Island currently has four white men in its congressional delegation. Amo is one of several candidates to replace Cicilline who would change that. But he is not the only candidate (or potential candidate) with Pawtucket roots.

State Sen. Sandra Cano, D-Pawtucket, is an announced candidate (who is on unpaid leave from her job as the city's economic development director, according to the mayor). Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien said Tuesday he is still "considering a run for Congress," has "not made a formal decision ... [but] the likelihood that I will run for the seat is very high."

Amo's campaign video shows him driving through Pawtucket and talking about his background

"My parents came to Rhode Island from Ghana and Liberia. My mom is a nurse at a nursing home. She was always working the double shift. My dad owns a small business. I know what it's like to come from a family that struggled to get by. When I was just 8 years old ... I helped my mom study for the citizenship test."

Amo also describes himself a graduate of the private Moses Brown School in Providence and Wheaton College.

In his job at the White House, Amo said, "I worked with mayors across the country responding to some of our local communities' biggest challenges, helping communities sign up for affordable health care and prevent evictions to keep families in their homes.

"I've worked to rebuild places battered by hurricanes and shattered by senseless gun violence. Now I'm ready to bring that experience to work for Rhode Island."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Gabe Amo, former Biden, Obama aide announces run for 1st Congressional District