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Don Carlson (Rhode Island)
Don Carlson (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District. Carlson lost in the special Democratic primary on September 5, 2023. Carlson unofficially withdrew from the race but appeared on the primary election ballot on September 5, 2023.
Carlson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.
On August 27, 2023, Carlson announced he would withdraw from the Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election.[1]
Biography
Carlson received a B.A. in political economy from Williams College in 1983 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1986.[2]
Carlson has served as a business leader, attorney, and professor.[2]
Elections
2023
See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023
Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Democratic primary)
Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Republican primary)
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1
Gabe Amo defeated Gerry Leonard in the special general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gabe Amo (D)  | 64.9 | 43,290 |
 | Gerry Leonard (R) | 35.1 | 23,393 | |
| Total votes: 66,683 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Stephen Earle (Independent)
- Julian J. Smith (Independent)
- Richard O'Shea (Independent)
- John Vitkevich (Independent)
- Jeffrey Lemire (Independent)
- Christopher Reynolds (Independent)
- Joseph Jean-Philippe (Independent)
- Paul Rianna Jr. (Independent)
- John Ritchie (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1
The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 5, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gabe Amo | 32.4 | 12,946 |
 | J. Aaron Regunberg | 24.9 | 9,960 | |
 | Sandra Cano | 13.9 | 5,574 | |
 | Sabina Matos | 8.0 | 3,210 | |
 | Stephen Casey | 5.8 | 2,329 | |
 | Walter Berbrick | 3.6 | 1,453 | |
 | Ana Quezada | 3.5 | 1,415 | |
 | John Goncalves | 2.8 | 1,118 | |
 | Don Carlson (Unofficially withdrew) | 1.7 | 690 | |
 | Allen Waters | 1.3 | 503 | |
 | Stephanie Beauté | 1.1 | 428 | |
 | Spencer Dickinson | 0.9 | 354 | |
| Total votes: 39,980 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bella Noka (D)
- Nicholas Autiello II (D)
- Nathan Biah (D)
- Paul LeBon (D)
- Toni Sfameni (D)
- Kathleen Gaskell (D)
- Larry Hutchinson Jr. (D)
- Gregory Mundy (D)
- Michael Tillinghast (D)
- Marvin Abney (D)
- Mickeda Barnes (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1
Gerry Leonard defeated Terri Flynn in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 5, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gerry Leonard | 75.7 | 3,076 |
 | Terri Flynn | 24.3 | 989 | |
| Total votes: 4,065 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- William LeBron Jr. (R)
- Barrett Lynton (R)
- Gary Donald (R)
- Uloma Ekpete Kama (R)
Carlson received the following endorsements.
- U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D)
- LGBTQ+ Victory Fund
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Don Carlson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Carlson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Climate change is the most pressing existential threat that we face, and the threat is growing worse with every passing day. We are running out of time to reverse the human-induced effects of climate change.
- Gun violence is our national curse. MAGA Republicans and their allies stubbornly block action to end the scourge of gun violence. It’s time to summon the courage to stand up to the powerful gun lobby to do what the majority of Americans want: pass meaningful gun safety laws and get weapons of war off our streets, out of our classrooms, concert venues, movie theaters, places of worship, and everywhere else that our communities gather together.
- My daughters and their peers are now fighting the same battle that their grandmothers fought and won half a century ago. Access to abortion care has been a Constitutional right since 1975. The Supreme Court is no longer a paragon of objectivity, integrity and truth that it once was. Instead, the Supreme Court majority has an extreme right agenda that it is hellbent on inflicting on Americans families.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
