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Notable Rhode Island races, 2016

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Notable Rhode Island Races
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PrimarySeptember 13, 2016
GeneralNovember 8, 2016
2016 Notable Races
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Ballotpedia identified three notable Rhode Island state legislative races in 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Democrats kept a state government trifecta.
  • Two open races attracted competitive Democratic primary fields.
  • Two Republican candidates targeted the Democratic Speaker of the House.

    • Overview

    Main articles: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2016 and Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2016

    All 75 state House seats and all 38 state Senate seats were up for election in 2016.

    Partisan breakdown of the Rhode Island Legislature
    Party Republicans Democrats Independents Vacancies
    Rhode Island House 12 seats 61 seats 1 seat 1 seat
    Rhode Island Senate 5 seats 32 seats 1 seat 0 seats

    Democrats had held a state government trifecta since then-Gov. Lincoln Chafee joined the Democratic Party in 2013. They remained in total control of the state government following the November election. Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) was not up for election in 2016, and Republicans would have had to gain 26 seats to win a majority in the House and 15 seats to win a majority in the Senate.

    Two open races—for the Democratic-held seat in House District 13 and the GOP-held seat in Senate District 17—attracted competitive Democratic primaries in 2016.[1][2][3] The Democratic Speaker of the House faced two Republican challengers in House District 15.[1][2]

    What makes a race notable?

    Ballotpedia uses these criteria to identify notable races:

    • Incumbents facing more conservative or liberal challengers
    • Rematches between candidates
    • Races that receive considerable media attention
    • Races that could significantly affect the state's partisan balance
    • Competitive races involving party leaders
    • Open, competitive races with Republican and Democratic primaries
    • Races that capture money and attention from outside groups, including key endorsements

    Know of an interesting race we should include here? Email us!

    Notable primary elections

    House District 13 - Democratic primary

    Four Democratic candidates competed for the open seat vacated by a Democratic incumbent.

    Rep. John Carnevale (D) withdrew his bid for re-election to his House District 13 seat following a ruling by the state Board of Canvassers that he did not live in the district.[1][4] Three Democratic candidates—Anthony DeFilippo, Ramon Perez, and Lisa Scorpio—competed for the Democratic nomination in the open race.[1] A fourth candidate, [[David Marshall]], filed as a candidate but later withdrew from the race.[1] No Republican candidates filed to run for the District 13 seat.[1]

    Ramon Perez ran unopposed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 13 general election.[5][6]

    Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 13 General Election, 2016
    Party Candidate
        Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Ramon Perez  (unopposed)
    Source: Rhode Island State Board of Elections


    Ramon Perez defeated Lisa Scorpio and Anthony Defilippo in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 13 Democratic primary.[7]

    Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 13 Democratic Primary, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Ramon Perez 56.44% 526
         Democratic Lisa Scorpio 37.98% 354
         Democratic Anthony Defilippo 5.58% 52
    Total Votes 932

    Senate District 17 - Democratic primary

    Five Democratic candidates competed for the open seat vacated by a Republican incumbent.

    Independent-turned-Republican Sen. Edward O'Neill (R) did not run for re-election to his Senate District 17 seat in 2016.[1][3] Four candidates—Hagop Setrak Jawharjian, Dennis Lavallee, former Rep. Keven McKenna (D), and Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos—competed for the Democratic nomination in the open race.[1] Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos faced Thomas Paolino (R) in the November general election. Paolino was unopposed in the Republican primary. [1]

    Thomas Paolino defeated Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos in the Rhode Island State Senate District 17 general election.[5][6]

    Rhode Island State Senate, District 17 General Election, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Thomas Paolino 51.00% 7,224
         Democratic Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos 49.00% 6,942
    Total Votes 14,166
    Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections


    Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos defeated Dennis Lavallee, Keven McKenna and Hagop Setrak Jawharjian in the Rhode Island State Senate District 17 Democratic primary.[8][9]

    Rhode Island State Senate, District 17 Democratic Primary, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos 43.80% 964
         Democratic Dennis Lavallee 25.49% 561
         Democratic Keven McKenna 20.04% 441
         Democratic Hagop Setrak Jawharjian 10.68% 235
    Total Votes 2,201


    Thomas Paolino ran unopposed in the Rhode Island State Senate District 17 Republican primary.[8][9]

    Rhode Island State Senate, District 17 Republican Primary, 2016
    Party Candidate
        Republican Green check mark transparent.png Thomas Paolino  (unopposed)

    Notable general elections

    House District 15 - General election

    Two Republican candidates competed to challenge the Democratic Speaker of the House.

    Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello (D) ran for re-election. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Steve Frias defeated Shawna Lawton in the Republican primary. Mattiello, Frias, and Patrick Vallier (Ind.) faced off in the November general election.[1][2]

    Incumbent Nicholas Mattiello defeated Steven Frias and Patrick Vallier in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15 general election.[5][6]

    Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 15 General Election, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Nicholas Mattiello Incumbent 49.20% 3,611
         Republican Steven Frias 48.04% 3,526
         Independent Patrick Vallier 2.75% 202
    Total Votes 7,339
    Source: Rhode Island State Board of Elections


    Incumbent Nicholas Mattiello ran unopposed in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15 Democratic primary.[10]

    Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 15 Democratic Primary, 2016
    Party Candidate
        Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Nicholas Mattiello Incumbent (unopposed)


    Steven Frias defeated Shawna Lawton in the Rhode Island House of Representatives District 15 Republican primary.[11]

    Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 15 Republican Primary, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Steven Frias 79.63% 477
         Republican Shawna Lawton 20.37% 122
    Total Votes 599

    Freshman legislators

    The following is a list of challengers who won election on November 8.

    1. Alex Marszalkowski (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 52
    2. Ana Quezada (Democratic), .Rhode Island State Senate, District 2
    3. Camille Vella-Wilkinson (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 21
    4. Evan Shanley (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 24
    5. Helder Cunha (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 64
    6. James Arthur Seveney (Democratic), .Rhode Island State Senate, District 11
    7. Jason Knight (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 67
    8. Jeanine Calkin (Democratic), .Rhode Island State Senate, District 30
    9. Julie Casimiro (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 31
    10. Kenneth Mendonca (Republican), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 72
    11. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 5
    12. Moira Walsh (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 3
    13. Ramon Perez (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 13
    14. Robert Quattrocchi (Republican), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 41
    15. Susan Donovan (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 69
    16. Thomas Paolino (Republican), .Rhode Island State Senate, District 17

    Defeated incumbents

    The following is a list of incumbents who were defeated on November 8.

    1. John Pagliarini (Republican), .Rhode Island State Senate, District 11
    2. Michael Marcello (Democratic), .Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 41

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates in Upcoming Elections," accessed August 12, 2016
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 WPRI, "1 in 3 RI State Lawmakers Could Run Unopposed," June 30, 2016
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Providence Journal, "R.I. Campaign 2016: 28 Percent of Lawmakers Will Run Unopposed," June 30, 2016
    4. ↑ Providence Journal, "Embattled Rep. Carnevale Withdraws From Reelection Bid," July 29, 2016
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed October 5, 2016
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Rhode Island State Board of Elections, "2016 general election results," accessed January 19, 2017 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "gresults16" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "gresults16" defined multiple times with different content
    7. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
    8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
    9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Rhode Island Board of Elections, "2016 Statewide Primary," accessed October 14, 2016
    10. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
    11. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "2016 Candidate Search," accessed June 30, 2016
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