Rhode Island CD2 race results: Magaziner declares victory, Fung concedes

Republicans' strongest hope for picking up a high-profile seat in Rhode Island fizzled out on Tuesday night, as Allan Fung conceded the tight race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin in Congress.

With 99% of polling places reporting as of 11:00 p.m, Democrat Seth Magaziner had 50.2% of the vote in Rhode Island's Second Congressional District, while Fung was at 47%. Moderate Bill Gilbert had 2.7% of the vote.

"When we started this campaign last February, I believed with every fiber of my heart that we together could make a difference for Rhode Islanders and for the country," a subdued Fung told supporters who had gathered at Twin Oaks in Cranston on Tuesday night. He congratulated Magaziner on his victory, saying that he planned to "continue to work in any capacity that I can to make our state better."

The unusually competitive race has been a nail-biter for Democrats, who came close to losing a seat that they have held for over 30 years. In the lead-up to the election, nationaloutlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal highlighted Fung's lead in the polls, suggesting that it was emblematic of the gains that Republicans stood to make in this year's midterm elections.

"We were behind in every single poll. Every single poll," Magaziner told a cheering crowd at The Graduate hotel in Providence on Tuesday night. "Every single pundit thought we were going to lose, but you never stopped believing."

"Thank you for not giving up," he told supporters. "Thank you for fighting what you believe in."

Fung, after conceding the race, told reporters he had expected an uphill battle.

"We ran a good campaign," he said. "The bottom line is this... it's a deep blue state."

President Joe Biden won the district by almost 14 points in 2014, and U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin was elected to 11 consecutive terms before he announced plans to retire this year.

But the district skews more rural and tends to be more conservative than the state overall, and the the race became a toss-up once Langevin announced plans to retire from Congress.

Fung, well known from his 11 years as mayor of Cranston and past campaigns for governor, focused almost exclusively on inflation, especially high energy prices. Magaziner, the two-term state treasurer, argued that electing Fung would help Republicans gain control of Congress. The main point of disagreement between the two candidates boiled down to whether Fung could accurately be called a "moderate" and if he'd vote in lockstep with the rest of his party, which has swung much further to the right.

In the weeks leading up to the election, polls showed Fung either neck-and-neck or holding a slight lead over Magaziner, with the exception of one Democratic poll that left Gilbert off the ballot.

Ultimately, Fung received more votes on the day of the election, but Magaziner had the lead in early voting, and received roughly three times as many mail ballot votes.

Magaziner congratulated Fung on "a hard-fought campaign" in his Tuesday night victory speech, and thanked him for "his career in public service."

He also obliquely referenced the GOP-funded attack ads that had blanketed the airwaves, telling his family, "You have had to put up with a lot of ugliness and a lot of nonsense that you didn’t deserve, but you never complained once."

After thanking his supporters in a brief speech, Fung told reporters that he was "disappointed, but life goes on." Asked about his political future, he replied, "I'm just going to sleep, for right now."

The Supreme Court's decision to strike down Roe v. Wade weighed heavily on the minds of a number of voters who cast ballots for Magaziner on Election Day.

Donna Lister, who cast her vote at the Cranston Portuguese Club, said that she'd "always voted Democrat" and that abortion rights figured especially heavily in her decision.

"I am a nurse, so I see that back office stuff going on," she said.

At the polling site at Warwick's Toll Gate High School, Greg Waradzin agreed. "I know when I go to the doctor, I want to decide what I want to do, and not have someone decide for me," he said.

He'd previously lived in Cranston when Fung was mayor, and hadn't been impressed, he said. And, he added, he didn't want to see Congress flip Republican.

Yet other voters said that they were ready for a change.

Ray Bruins arrived at Toll Gate with Providencia Nasrabadi, who uses a wheelchair and had needed a ride to the polls. The two hadn't met each other before Election Day — but a friend had called Bruins to ask if he could help out, and he'd agreed.

In the car, they hadn't talked politics. But when asked by a reporter, both said that they were supporting Republicans all down the ballot.

"It's hard," said Bruins, 51, who said that he'd been brought up as a Democrat. "I see the seniors struggling at the supermarket ... it’s heartbreaking. I’m going to be there in a few years."

"I had to ask for help," said Nasrabadi, 75. "They bring me food once a month because I can’t afford it ... I'm tired of supporting Democrats. I see them doing nothing."

Bruins, who lives in the First Congressional District and had already voted for Republican Allan Waters before taking Nasrabadi to vote in Warwick, added: "I don't understand why you go to the supermarket and see prices double in less than a year and expect someone who’s on a fixed income to catch up."

As a union member, he'd been urged to vote for Democrats, he said. But he didn't feel like he could do that. "Things need to change. That’s all around the country, that’s not just here. It seems like no one’s helping."

Still, he said, "I'm optimistic."

"I hope I’m making the right choice, that’s all," Nasrabadi said.

After declaring victory on Tuesday night, Magaziner pledged to "always fight for working people."

"We are a small state, we are a scrappy state, and we are the best state, and it is an honor to represent you," he told Rhode Islanders.

With reports from Wheeler Cowperthwaite.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI CD2 race: Fung concedes as Magaziner wins seat