'A great time to be running as a Republican': Optimism runs high at RI GOP convention

Correction: This story has been updated to correct a quote from gubernatorial candidate Ashley Kalus. She said that questions about President Trump were a distraction from "left-leaning media," not "left-wing media."

CRANSTON – Speaker after speaker at the Rhode Island Republican Party’s 2022 nominating convention agreed: The party’s prospects are looking brighter than they have in years.

“This is probably the most energized crowd I’ve seen in the 12 years I’ve been doing this,” said newly minted House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale.

“This is a great time to be running as a Republican in the state,” agreed National Committeeman – and local historian – Steve Frias. “People ask me, ‘Has it ever been this good?’ It’s better than 2014, it’s better than 2010, it’s probably even better than 1994. I think it’s better than 1966.”

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Among the reasons for their enthusiasm: Recent polling shows former Cranston Mayor Allan Fung leading the race in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District, which is now seen as a toss-up for the two major parties. And by the time the convention began, more than 80 Republicans had declared their intent to run for the General Assembly – one of the highest totals in recent memory.

The official business of the convention – determining which candidates for federal and statewide office will get the party’s endorsement – was largely settled before it began. Most races, with the exception of the lieutenant governor's race, do not have a contested GOP primary. Robert Lancia, who had been running against Fung, dropped out on Wednesday afternoon at the urging of party leaders.

"It took a lot of courage to do what he did today," Fung said when he accepted the nomination, thanking Lancia.

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The full list of endorsements: Ashley Kalus for governor, Aaron Guckian for lieutenant governor, Pat Cortellessa for secretary of state, Chas Calenda for attorney general, James Lathrop for general treasurer, Allen Waters for Congressional District 1 and Fung for Congressional District 2.

The guest speaker, Republican National Committee co-chair Tommy Hicks, told the audience that Rhode Island has “a very important role to play in helping Republicans win races … We only need four seats to win the House and send Nancy Pelosi packing for once and for all.”

The RNC has identified Congressional District 2 as a “prime pickup opportunity,” he said.

Frias, who formally nominated Fung, said in his speech that he sometimes hears fellow conservatives grousing that Fung isn’t conservative enough.

“He’s not as conservative as me, either, but the guy can win,” he said. “And I’d rather have somebody in D.C. who represents me some of the time than get stuck with someone in D.C. who represents me none of the time.”

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Fung, in a brief speech, said that Republicans were in a moment of unity. Democrats, who have a crowded primary in Congressional District 2, are  "going to be making sure they fight each other," he said. "All of them are not focused on us."

Asked after the convention if he would vote for former President Donald Trump in 2024, Fung said to ask him "a couple of years from now," and that he will make a decision based on who's running at that time.

"I'm not going to guess as to what some guy who's in his 80s is going to be doing a couple of years from now," he said. (Trump actually turned 76 in June.) "All I can tell you right now is I don't want Joe Biden to be our president in a couple of years."

In contrast with Fung, who largely steered clear of discussing policy matters other than inflation and the economy, Waters dove straight into controversial topics like abortion, and his concern that America does not have "enough submarines and destroyers to fight the Indo-China war."

"Life begins at fertilization," he declared in his acceptance speech, asking if overturning Roe v. Wade was "devastating for anyone in this room."

"No!" the audience shouted back in response.

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Notably, the Rhode Island GOP endorsed Waters in 2020, when he ran a long-shot campaign for Senate, but then rescinded its endorsement. The unusual move followed the revelation that Waters had been arrested in 2019 for an alleged domestic assault. (The charges were dropped after Waters' wife, the alleged victim, declined to cooperate.) 

Waters is now facing another controversy over comments that have been perceived by some as homophobic. 

Speaking to Latino Public Radio last week, Waters said that he hopes to appeal to Hispanic voters by focusing on "family values." Asked if that was a knock on the incumbent, Rep. David Cicilline, who is openly gay, Waters responded, "Well, the answer is I'm openly straight."

"I'm a heterosexual," he went on. "I’ve never had sex with another male or a boy. I’m not interested. I’m attracted to women. And I want people to know that if they’re looking for  [...] someone who believes in marriage and motherhood and fatherhood, I think this is the time that you have to vote for someone who represents you." 

Waters later posted about the interview on Twitter, writing, in quotes, "I never had sex with another man." He has since deleted that tweet, and all others dating earlier than June 24th.

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"No comment on that right now," Waters said on Wednesday. "But there was more to it." He walked away when asked to elaborate. 

Kalus, in her acceptance speech, recounted a bootstraps, rags-to-riches upbringing.

"For those of you who don’t know, I came from nothing," she said. "My mother once left a grocery store embarrassed after trying to use food stamps to buy food. In the face of adversity, she built a business from the ground up and created a better life for my sister and for me."

She seized the opportunity to bash several of her Democratic rivals: Gov. Dan McKee, "who is plagued with scandals," Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, "who bungled the census," and Helena Foulkes, “who ran CVS pharmacy during the height of the opioid crisis."

Kalus again declined to answer questions about whether she would vote for Trump in 2024, saying they were a “distraction” being pushed by “left-leaning media.”

She also again declined to say whether she would have signed the package of gun-control bills that passed the General Assembly this month, or whether she would have signed a bill codifying Roe v. Wade into state law in 2019.

Some of the loudest applause of the evening went to Rep. Blake Filippi, who served as House Minority Leader until last week, when he stunned many of his colleagues by announcing that he would not seek reelection. 

Speaking to fellow Republicans on Wednesday, Filippi said that it had become clear that he could not serve as an effective representative while simultaneously suing top General Assembly leaders over the Joint Committee on Legislative Services, an obscure and often opaque body that controls spending. 

"There aren’t enough hours in the day," Filippi said, describing the potential impact of the lawsuit as "so much bigger than anything I could do as a representative."

"You think I’m leaving?" he said. "I'm going into the biggest fight of my life."

In between voting and speechmaking at the Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, attendees had the opportunity to bid on silent auction items that included lunch with Fung, a gift certificate for Botox or fillers, several Trump-themed gift baskets, and a vintage "Keep Chafee" lunch cooler. 

The lunch with Fung proved to be the biggest-ticket item, with bids topping $500. In a sign of the times, there was plenty of interest in bejeweled Trump hats, but no takers for the Chafee lunchbox. 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIGOP nominates candidates; optimism high for Congressional District 2