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Mark Zaccaria

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Mark Zaccaria was a 2016 Republican candidate for the District 32 of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Zaccaria was a 2014 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. Senate from Rhode Island.[1] Mark Zaccaria was defeated in the 2014 general election.

Zaccaria, who ran unsuccessfully for Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District twice, said he knew that it would be difficult to unseat the well-funded, popular Sen. Jack Reed. He added, “I don’t think my campaign is going to be remarkably different. I’m not a different person. I think the message is going to hit more fertile ground this time than it did in the past.”[2][3]

Career

Zaccaria served on active duty with the United States Air Force from 1970-1975 as an instructor pilot.[4][5] From 1975 to 1982, he was a marine contractor operating in Naragansett Bay and adjacent waters.[4] From 1982 to 1991, he was a marketing manager with Dennison Manufacturing Company, and from 1991 to 1996 was a product marketing manager with Esselte Meto/Kimball systems.[6] From 1983 to 2008, he held posts in several industries specializing in barcoding & automatic identification.[7] Zaccaria founded Rustin Marketing Services LLC in 2008.[7]

Politics

According to a campaign website, Zaccaria's experience can be traced "back to his High School days, distributing literature for Barry Goldwater’s (R-Az.) run for President."[8] From 1999 to 2013, he served on Rhode Island Republican Party State Committee.[7] In 2008 and 2010, he was the Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim Langevin for the seat from Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District. In 2011, he was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Rhode Island and served as a delegate to the 2012 Republican National Convention.[7] In 2014, he was the GOP challenger to Profile: Mark Zaccaria," accessed November 18, 2015]</ref> In 2014, Zaccaria was the Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island.[1] He also served as campaign manager for Rhue Reis' (R-R.I.) campaign against Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) for Congress.[9]

In 2012, Zaccaria authored a biographical novel of his father's World War II service entitled War Record: Dreams of a Stolen World.[10] He is also a co-host of Common Sense RI, a weekly television show about Rhode Island politics.[11]

Campaign themes

2016

Zaccaria's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

Why am I Running?

  • To take the Representation of my Home District back from the Leadership Machine on Smith Hill
  • To join forces with the Minority that is arguing against more and more Deficit Spending on Smith Hill
  • To Speak for the property owners of the District, and all others statewide, against the process now underway in Rhode Island to eliminate Municipal sovereignty over Zoning as well as to eliminate Individual sovereignty over the use of one’s own property.
  • To be a Voice for a Real Opportunity for everyone in Rhode Island to climb the Economic Ladder, rather than be chained by Government to a single rung.
  • To be part of the Counterbalance against the abuses of legislative power that we see so routinely from the existing Super-Majority.
  • To Bolster my Party and help make it a real alternative again.That will shift the public discussion from Labels to Issues![12]
—Mark Zaccaria[13]

Elections

2016

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Rhode Island House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on September 13, 2016, and a general election would have taken place on November 8, 2016, if no candidate had won a majority of votes in the primary. The candidate filing deadline was June 29, 2016.

Incumbent Robert Craven defeated Mark Zaccaria in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 32 general election.[14][15]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 32 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Robert Craven Incumbent 55.64% 4,337
     Republican Mark Zaccaria 44.36% 3,458
Total Votes 7,795
Source: Rhode Island State Board of Elections


Incumbent Robert Craven ran unopposed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 32 Democratic primary.[16]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 32 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Robert Craven Incumbent (unopposed)


Mark Zaccaria ran unopposed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 32 Republican primary.[17]

Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 32 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Republican Green check mark transparent.png Mark Zaccaria  (unopposed)


2014

See also: United States Senate elections in Rhode Island, 2014

Zaccaria ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. Senate, to represent Rhode Island.[1] Mark Zaccaria lost the general election on November 4, 2014. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary on September 9, 2014.

Election results

U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJack Reed Incumbent 70.6% 223,675
     Republican Mark Zaccaria 29.2% 92,684
     N/A Write-in 0.2% 539
Total Votes 316,898
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections

Endorsements

Zaccaria was endorsed by the Republican Party of Rhode Island on June 26, 2014, at the Republican Endorsement Convention.[18]

Polls

General Election
Poll Jack Reed Mark ZaccariaUndecidedMargin of ErrorSample Size
YouGov
September 20 - October 1, 2014
64%22%14%+/-4724
Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. 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

Media

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates for Senator in Congress," accessed June 25, 2014
  2. Politifact, "Mark S. Zaccaria's file," accessed July 8, 2014
  3. Providence Journal, "Former R.I. GOP chair Mark Zaccaria launches U.S. Senate campaign," July 7, 2014
  4. 4.0 4.1 Go Local Prov, "Mark Zaccaria Biography," accessed November 18, 2015
  5. PollVault, "2014 Rhode Island Primary Election, Mark Zaccaria," accessed November 18, 2015
  6. Vote Smart, "Mark Zaccaria's biography," accessed November 18, 2015
  7. Tea Party Cheer, "Campaign bio: Mark Zaccaria," accessed November 18, 2015
  8. Rhode Island NPR, "GOP small businessman plans to challenge Langevin," January 8, 2014
  9. Tate Publishing, "War Record by Mark Zaccaria," accessed November 18, 2015
  10. The Gaspee Project, "Common Sense RI," accessed November 18, 2015
  11. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  12. Zaccaria for House, "Platform," accessed September 30, 2016
  13. Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed October 5, 2016
  14. Rhode Island State Board of Elections, "2016 general election results," accessed January 19, 2017
  15. Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
  16. Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
  17. WPRI.com, "RI Republicans endorse Fung for gov over Block," accessed June 27, 2014


Senators
Representatives
District 1
Gabe Amo (D)
District 2
Democratic Party (4)