Progressive push left sputters against establishment Democrats in RI primary

The Democratic Party establishment struck back Tuesday against a progressive push to take over the State House.

While moderates Dan McKee and Brett Smiley edged out more liberal primary rivals for governor and Providence mayor, centrist and conservative Democrats in the General Assembly beat back more than two dozen challenges from the left.

Among them were House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who fended off progressive challengers with 70% and 59% of the vote in their races, respectively.

Labor unions re-established their traditional influence in the party with McKee's win and the success of union-backed incumbent lawmakers.

There were no shocking upsets.

David Segal's second-place finish in the 2nd Congressional District, with 16% of the vote, and Cynthia Mendes coming in third with 20% for lieutenant governor, were the closest the left came to a statewide or semi-statewide win.

That's not to say it was close to a clean sweep for the establishment.

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Progressives won a handful of races, most in open Assembly seats, and on net the State House will likely scooch to the left again by around three seats, depending on how things turn out in the November general election.

Three long-serving House members, Reps. Anastasia Williams of Providence, Jean Philippe Barros of Pawtucket and James McLaughlin of Cumberland, were ousted by left-aligned challengers. The margin in McLaughlin's race was a paper thin 34 votes and on Wednesday he requested a recount, according to the Board of Elections.

But the wave of progressive primary wins that began in 2016 subsided somewhat and the "revolution" promised by the Rhode Island Political Cooperative did not materialize.

Only three of the 24 Co-op General Assembly candidates with Democratic primaries won. And many of the losses were by large margins.

In the Senate, leadership-aligned incumbent Sens. Maryellen Goodwin, Sam Zurier, Frank Ciccone, Frank Lombardi and Val Lawson all defeated progressive challengers. All but Goodwin's were Co-op members.

And Co-op co-founder Sen. Jeanine Calkin lost for the second time in four years, to lawyer and former senator Mark McKinney.

In the House, Reps. Christopher Blazejewski, Ray Hull, Camille Vella-Wilkinson, Joseph Solomon, Robert Craven, Robert Phillips, Joseph McNamara, Mary Messier and Arthur Corvese all won easily over Co-op challengers. Centrist candidates also won primaries for open seats in Woonsocket, where Rep. Steven Lima is stepping down, and East Providence, where Gregg Amore is running for secretary of state.

The three Co-op victories: incumbent Rep. Brianna Henries of East Providence beat challenger Ashley Pereira, Jennifer Stewart ousted Barros and Co-op co-founder Jennifer Rourke defeated Michael Carreiro in the race to replace the retiring Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey. Carriero had been dogged by allegations he no longer lived in the district.

"While I’m disappointed in the outcome in our race, I was clear from the beginning that this campaign was never about electing any one person – it was about building a much larger movement," Co-op co-founder and candidate for governor Matt Brown said Wednesday.

Other progressive groups also suffered some unexpected setbacks.

In Cranston, Rep. Charlene Lima, the deputy speaker, overcame infighting with fellow Cranston Democrats and well-organized opponent Giona Picheco, who was backed by the Working Families Party.

In Johnston, social worker Kelsey Coletta had hoped to take advantage of the feud between Rep. Edward Cardillo Jr. and his primary rival, his nephew. But in a tight race the incumbent Cardillo won with 41% to 36% for Coletta and 23% for Dennis Cardillo Jr.

In the closest race of the night, McLaughlin, one of the most conservative Democrats in the House, lost to challenger Brandon Voas by 34 votes. Voas is a cousin of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ryan Pearson.

The positive results for the left included Enrique Sanchez, endorsed by Providence Democratic Socialists of America, knocking off the outspoken Williams, who had represented Providence's West Side since 1993. Sanchez took 53% of the vote to 40% for Williams and 7% for Lonnie Mangum.

Another Democratic Socialists candidate, Sen. Sam Bell, defeated Providence City Councilor David Salvatore 60% to 40%.

And Sen. Tiara Mack, beat former Rep, Joseph Almeida 57% to 43%.

In Pawtucket, Cherie Cruz, backed by the progressive Reclaim Rhode Island and Working Families party, won the primary to fill the seat being left by Rep. Carlos Tobon.

Working Families also claimed a victory to the southwest, where Victoria Gu beat Westerly Town Council President Sharon Ahern and the Co-op's Michael Niemeyer in the seat being left by Senate GOP leader Dennis Algiere.

In the East Bay, progressive Linda Ujifusa defeated Matt Chappell to succeed the retiring Sen. Jim Seveney.

“Working Families Party candidates continue to make gains cycle after cycle, and tonight is no different," Working Families New England Regional Director Georgia Hollister Isman said in a release, referring to the wins for Cruz and Gu. "All of our candidates ran strong grassroots campaigns, and we look forward to getting the ones who won tonight through to the finish line, and working with the ones who didn’t as they continue to lead for their communities.”

Other centrist victories included City Council President Robert Britto beating the Co-op's Greg Greco to fill the Senate seat Mendes left to run for lieutenant governor, and David Tikoian defeated Melanie Dupont in the race to succeed Sen. Stephen Archambault.

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In Warwick, leadership-aligned lawyer Matthew LaMountain defeated Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC Executive Director Harrison Tuttle.

Pam Lauria beat Susannah Holloway in the Barrington seat held by retiring Sen. Cynthia Coyne.

"From the top of the ballot to the bottom, centrist or establishment Democrats enjoyed lots of success while progressive victories (particularly among progressive challengers as opposed to incumbents) were few and far between," Providence College political science professor Adam Meyers wrote in an email. "This is genuinely surprising given the trends we were seeing in the 2018 and 2020 primaries, when progressive challengers (Coop candidates, etc.) enjoyed lots of triumphs. My sense is that the progressive activist community in RI (and nationally) is finding it harder to mobilize voters in the post-Trump era."

One of the few Republican primaries Tuesday -- and the only involving an incumbent -- saw Cranston Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung easily defeat challenger Suzanne Downing.

panderson@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7384

On Twitter: @PatrickAnderso_

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Breaking down the General Assembly primary election results