Sabina Matos wins 3-way primary race for lt. governor; will face Aaron Guckian in November

PROVIDENCE — Incumbent Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos won Tuesday's Democratic primary for the spot she was appointed to by Gov. Dan McKee.

With 99% of precincts reporting, Matos garnered 47% of the vote, 49,116.

What comes next for the former Providence City Council president is a race in the general election against Republican Aaron Guckian, who won in his own primary race against Paul Pence.

Live results: Who won? 2022 primary night election results

But what it means for voters depends on who wins in the general election and if anything happens to the next governor, either through a resignation or incapacitation.

The lieutenant governor has few actual duties, aside from chairing four boards. The most important, although rarely exercised duty, is stepping in if anything happens to the governor.

Even when the lieutenant governor and governor are from the same party, that doesn't mean they get along, as McKee and former gov. Gina Raimondo had a relationship so distant, he sent her letter that never got a response. McKee had no working relationship with the governor he replaced and no role in her pandemic response efforts. Raimondo was appointed as the U.S. Commerce Secretary.

Matos and McKee appear to have a cozier relationship, as McKee appointed her and the pair appear together at campaign events, although they are not running on a self-described ticket like Brown and Mendes were.

Matos also supports McKee's efforts, like the Tidewater Landing soccer stadium in Pawtucket, unlike her two former opponents.

How they did

Shortly after the polls closed Tuesday at 8 p.m., Matos quickly took the lead, which she maintained throughout the night.

With almost all precincts reporting, Deborah Ruggiero was second, with 33% of the vote, 34,763 votes, followed by Cynthia Mendes.

While the number of votes changed throughout the night, the percentage for each candidate stayed almost static, fluctuating within a single percentage point.

Mendes ran together with gubernatorial candidate Matt Brown. Preliminary results put her at 20,672 votes, or 20%. The pair campaigned together and had most of the same platform as other Rhode Island Political Cooperative candidates.

Mendes, in a three-way race, did better than Brown, who pulled in 8% of the vote, but Co-op candidates fared poorly across the state, notching just three wins in the primary.

Guckian wins Republican primary

In the Republican race for lieutenant governor, Aaron Guckian outpaced Paul Pence, with 12,119 votes, 64% with 88% of precincts reporting, with Pence pulling in 5,781 votes, or 32% of the vote.

With the majority of results in, Guckian said, at 9:20, that he was the winner of the primary.

"I wouldn't say it was a surprise, as I've had to run hard in the primary, but I did everything I possibly could to win, and I'm excited for the victory," Guckian said.

Guckian said with the nomination comes momentum and scrutiny, and he said his resume is more impressive than Matos'.

"It's the final two here, so Rhode Island has to make the decision, and hopefully after they do the analysis, I'm the one they'll vote for in November," he said.

Declaring victory for Matos

Around 8:45 p.m., Matos declared victory, yelling, "It's official!" to the cheers of a group of 40 people, many family members, at Revival Brewing in Providence.

"It feels so amazing," she said.

Matos said she is "grateful" for the people in her life, the voters and everyone who volunteered.

"Primaries are hard because there are so many friends involved," she said.

Attending her election watch party were her mother, 71, and her grandmother, 98.

Matos said she is the first Afro-Latina to get the party nomination for lieutenant governor and she hopes that she can show girls that look like her that they can be politicians.

She said her daughter said she is going to be the first female president.

"I hope it happens sooner," Matos said. "She's only 12."

Matos lauded the diversity in the lieutenant governor's race — three women, including two of color. Mendes' mother is from Puerto Rico and her father is from Cape Verde.

Earlier on Tuesday, while stumping at the Temple Beth El in Wayland Square, Ruggiero said she has accomplished so much over her 14 years in the state legislature, focusing on her "4 e's" — the economy, education, the environment and "our elders."

"After 14 years, I've done a lot of work," she said.

Running for lieutenant governor was a great opportunity, and she also knew when she had done enough in the legislature that it was time to move on.

The Democratic race for lieutenant governor

The three-way race for lieutenant governor featured one appointed incumbent, one long-time legislator and one more progressive candidate.

Matos was appointed to fill the position by McKee after he took the place of former Gov. Gina Riamondo who resigned in March 2021 to become the U.S. Commerce Secretary.

Matos, 48, of Providence, was the term-limited president of the Providence City Council before McKee appointed her to fill his old position, with a  a war chest of $223,027 in early 2021 that, at the time, was bigger than that of any other potential 2022 candidates for Providence mayor.

Matos' family came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1994 and soon moved to Providence's Olneyville neighborhood from New York City.

First elected to the House of Representatives in 2008, Deb Ruggiero, 64, of Jamestown, said much of her focus was on the things the lieutenant governor can do, as it does not have a lot of constitutional duties, other than replacing the governor.

The lieutenant governor chairs four boards: the Long Term Care Coordinating Council, the Alzheimer's State Plan Executive Board, the Emergency Management Advisory Council and the Small Business Advocacy Council.

As she campaigned, Ruggiero focused on the services the office can provide to constituents and seniors, part of her major focus during her time in the legislature.

The most progressive candidate, Mendes, 42, of East Providence, expressly ran on a ticket with gubernatorial candidate Matt Brown.

While the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor, Mendes and Brown campaigned together, along with Rhode Island Political Cooperative candidates, with messages from the same platform.

Three women running as democrats: Three Democrats make the case for becoming RI's lieutenant governor

While Matos, the incumbent, wasn't on a ticket with Gov. Dan McKee, they often campaigned together, spoke at the same functions and ribbon cuttings and supported each other's platforms and decisions, like government financing for the Pawtucket soccer stadium.

Mendes sought the party nomination and lost it to Matos, who picked up 83 of 162 votes. Mendes received 12 votes, 56 delegates voted for no endorsement and 11 abstained. Ruggiero did not seek the party endorsement.

Mendes was elected to the Senate in 2020, beating incumbent William Conley Jr. in the primary. She now works as a project manager at Renew New England Alliance, a progressive umbrella group that has close ties to the Co-op.

The Republican race for lieutenant governor

While the three women running in the Democratic primary received the most attention, two men were running for the Republic nomination.

Guckian, 46, of East Greenwich, launched his campaign shortly after quitting his job as a fundraiser for the Rhode Island Foundation.

The other man in the race was PaPence, 63, of Warwick. This primary marked his second run for the lieutenant governor's office.

The race: Former Carcieri aide Aaron Guckian jumps into GOP race for lieutenant governor

Before Guckian started at the Rhode Island Foundation in 2017, he was a vice president and branch sales manager for Bank Newport in East Greenwich; an officer and sales coordinator for the Washington Trust Company; a special projects coordinator at the Rhode Island Family Court, and a special assistant to then-Gov. Donald L. Carcieri 2003-11.

Guckian touted a lengthy resume, education and that he was the endorsed candidate.

Pence said he wants to deal with problems in the state that can "only be resolved with the unique powers" of the lieutenant governor.

"It's the perfect job for somebody who can knock on doors inside the administration and say, 'You have a problem, this is why it's a problem, let me help,'" Pence said.

Elections: State says incorrect Spanish-language ballots 'have been cast' but questions remain

A quality management systems and food safety coordinator for Toray Plastics, Pence said he looks at problems like an engineer and is attuned to the fields of red tape that face small businesses.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Providence Journal subscription. Here's our latest offer.Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Sabina Matos , Aaron Guckian to square off for Lt. Governor