Anthony Gemma
Anthony Gemma was a 2012 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 1st Congressional District of Rhode Island.
Biography
Anthony Gemma was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and graduated from high school in 1988. He then earned his undergraduate degree from Suffolk University in 1992 and later received a law degree from Roger Williams Law School.[1]
Campaign themes
According to Anthony Gemma's website, his campaign themes included:
- Education; "...an investment in education is an investment in the future of Rhode Island."
- Healthcare reform; "...health care is a right, not a privilege."
- Small business; "...understands that small companies provide crucial goods, services and jobs to families on main street."[2]
Elections
2012
Gemma ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Rhode Island's 1st District. He was defeated by incumbent David N. Cicilline in the Democratic primary.[3]
Rhode Island's 1st goes 65% Democratic, but incumbent David N. Cicilline (D) was considered extremely vulnerable, according to the Washington Post. With Cicilline fighting the ghosts of his performance as Mayor of Providence, he faced a strong challenge in both the primary (from Anthony Gemma) and general (from Brendan Doherty).[4]
Voter fraud accusations
Anthony Gemma had accused the incumbent David Cicilline of voter fraud in the 2012 election, extending as far back as 2001. Gemma accused Cicilline of paying for votes, having people vote more than once and also using the names of deceased voters. Gemma had stated that he hired an investigator to confirm these allegations but had not chosen to make public the information he shared with the FBI.[5]
Former Congressman Patrick Kennedy had come out in support of Cicilline. In a statement given on August 25, Kennedy stated that, "With some of the wild and reckless allegations we have seen this week serving only to distract from the serious issues facing Rhode Island, Democrats need to stay focused on winning in November..."[6]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 David Cicilline Incumbent |
62.1% | 30,203 |
| Anthony Gemma | 30.2% | 14,702 |
| Christopher Young | 7.6% | 3,701 |
| Total Votes | 48,606 | |
Polls
A poll by Fleming & Associates of Cumberland, R.I. for the news station WPRI 12, found that out of the 302 people surveyed, 43% of them plan to vote for Cicilline on election day. Those who were planning to vote for Gemma summed up 31% of those surveyed. Cicilline stated that he was "happy that we're moving in the right direction." Gemma commented that the race "certainly is more of a marathon than a sprint."[7]
| Democratic Primary for Congress | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | David Cicilline | Anthony Gemma | Christopher Young | Not Sure | Margin of error | Sample size | |||||||||||||
| "Campaign 2012 Exclusive Poll" August 19-22 | 43.4% | 31.1% | 4.3% | 17.2% | +/-5.7 | 302 | |||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance summary
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Anthony + Gemma + Rhode Island + House"
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
External links
- Anthony Gemma campaign website
- Anthony Gemma Business News Radio website
- Profile at Twitter
- Profile at Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ Anthony Gemma For Congress, Meet Anthony
- ↑ Anthony Gemma For Congress, "Issues," accessed August 27, 2012
- ↑ Boston.com, "RI businessman challenges Cicilline in primary," April 16, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Washington Post blog, "The 10 House districts that might surprise you," May 11, 2012
- ↑ The Call, "Gemma charges Cicilline with voter fraud," August 22, 2012
- ↑ Providence Journal, "Former Congressman Kennedy endorses, defends Cicilline," August 25, 2012
- ↑ WPRI 12 News, "Poll: Cicilline triples lead over Gemma as primary nears," August 28, 2012
