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Donna Nesselbush

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Donna Nesselbush
Image of Donna Nesselbush
Prior offices
Rhode Island State Senate District 15
Successor: Meghan Kallman

Education

Bachelor's

Brown University

Law

Suffolk University

Personal
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Donna Nesselbush (Democratic Party) was a member of the Rhode Island State Senate, representing District 15. She assumed office in 2011. She left office on January 4, 2021.

Nesselbush (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Rhode Island State Senate to represent District 15. She won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Nesselbush earned her B.S. from Brown University in 1984 and her J.D. from Suffolk University in 1991. Her professional experience includes working as an attorney for the Law Firm of Marasco & Nesselbush, L.L.P, as an Associate Municipal Traffic and Housing Court Judge in Pawtucket, and as the former Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition against Domestic Violence.[1]

Committee assignments

2019-2020

Nesselbush was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Rhode Island committee assignments, 2017
Housing and Municipal Government
Judiciary
Health Care Oversight

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Nesselbush served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Nesselbush served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Nesselbush served on these committees:

Campaign themes

2014

Nesselbush's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[2]

Jobs and the Economy

  • Excerpt: "Inspiring job creation and fostering a thriving economy must be the number one (#1) priority of the General Assembly. Donna has supported legislation designed to revitalize Pawtucket, positioning us to attract and support the business, manufacturing and industry of tomorrow."

Rebuilding Our Middle Class

  • Excerpt: "It is unacceptable that over the last decade the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and the “middle class,” once the hallmark of the “American Dream,” has dwindled. Government establishes the rules of the economy and those rules must be designed to rebuild a thriving middle class."

Education

  • Excerpt: "Donna believes that education is a fundamental civil right; every child deserves access to a quality public education. Education is the great equalizer and the bridge to success. Donna believes that we must invest in our children’s future by providing them with a 21st century, top notch education."

Health Care

  • Excerpt: "As Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, Donna plays a leading role in helping to resolve the challenges facing Rhode island’s health care delivery system. Providing affordable access to quality health care is essential. Curbing the skyrocketing costs of health care while improving quality and health outcomes is one of Donna’s top priorities."

Veterans

  • Excerpt: "Donna’s father was proud to serve our country as a navigator for the United States Air Force during World War II. He instilled in Donna a deep commitment, respect and gratitude for our veterans. Military men and women write a blank check to our great nation, possibly payable with their lives, all to protect America’s freedom, which is anything but free. Our brave Veterans deserve the highest quality healthcare, services and benefits."

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2020

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2020

Donna Nesselbush did not file to run for re-election.

2018

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 15

Incumbent Donna Nesselbush won election in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 15 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Donna Nesselbush
Donna Nesselbush (D)
 
96.9
 
5,614
 Other/Write-in votes
 
3.1
 
181

Total votes: 5,795
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 15

Incumbent Donna Nesselbush advanced from the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 15 on September 12, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Donna Nesselbush
Donna Nesselbush
 
100.0
 
2,145

Total votes: 2,145
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 29, 2016.

Incumbent Donna Nesselbush ran unopposed in the Rhode Island State Senate District 15 general election.[3][4]

Rhode Island State Senate, District 15 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Donna Nesselbush Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections


Incumbent Donna Nesselbush ran unopposed in the Rhode Island State Senate District 15 Democratic primary.[5][6]

Rhode Island State Senate, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Donna Nesselbush Incumbent (unopposed)



2014

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014. Incumbent Donna Nesselbush was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Stephen Lemois was unopposed in the Republican primary. John Monahan (I) was removed from the ballot before the primary. Nesselbush defeated Lemois in the general election.[7][8][9]

Rhode Island State Senate, District 15, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDonna Nesselbush Incumbent 77.8% 3,840
     Republican Stephen Lemois 22.2% 1,093
Total Votes 4,933


2012

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2012

Nesselbush won re-election in District 15 and was unopposed in the Democratic primary on September 11. Nesselbush defeated Robert P. Venturini (I) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[10][11][12]

Rhode Island State Senate, District 15, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDonna Nesselbush Incumbent 77.5% 6,324
     Independent Robert P. Venturini 22.3% 1,818
     Other Write-in 0.2% 20
Total Votes 8,162

2010

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2010

Nesselbush faced no opposition in the November 2nd general election. She was unopposed in the September 14 Democratic primary.[13][14]

Rhode Island State Senate, District 15
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Donna Nesselbush (D) 4,044

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Donna Nesselbush campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2018Rhode Island State Senate District 15Won general$24,554 N/A**
2016Rhode Island State Senate, District 15Won $44,577 N/A**
2014Rhode Island State Senate, District 15Won $70,527 N/A**
2012Rhode Island State Senate, District 15Won $30,491 N/A**
2010Rhode Island State Senate, District 15Won $18,265 N/A**
Grand total$188,414 N/A**
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Rhode Island

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Rhode Island scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.






2020

In 2020, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 7 to August 30.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013


2012


2011

See also

External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
John McBurney (D)
Rhode Island State Senate District 15
2011–2021
Succeeded by
Meghan Kallman (D)


Current members of the Rhode Island State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Valarie Lawson
Majority Leader:Frank Ciccone
Minority Leader:Jessica de la Cruz
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Sam Bell (D)
District 6
District 7
District 8
Lori Urso (D)
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Dawn Euer (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
Democratic Party (34)
Republican Party (4)