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Valarie Lawson
Valarie Lawson (Democratic Party) is a member of the Rhode Island State Senate, representing District 14. She assumed office on January 1, 2019. Her current term ends on January 5, 2027.
Lawson was elected Senate president by the chamber's Democratic caucus on April 29, 2025, following the death of then-president Dominick Ruggerio (D).[1] Lawson was previously elected to serve as Senate majority leader ahead of the 2025 legislative session.[2] The Newport Daily News' Katherine Gregg and Patrick Anderson wrote that the "election of Lawson and [Frank] Ciccone – a teachers union president and former Laborers' union official – as the new Senate president and majority leader is obviously good news for organized labor, which played a behind-the-scenes role in cementing their leadership team."[3]
Lawson was born and raised in East Providence, Rhode Island. She earned her bachelor's degree in secondary education and her master's degree in education from Rhode Island College. Her professional experience includes teaching U.S. history and civics at East Providence High School and serving as president of the East Providence Education Association. She was elected president of the National Education Association's Rhode Island chapter in 2023.[4][5]
Lawson was first elected to the Rhode Island State Senate in 2018, winning a primary for an open seat with 58% of the vote before running unopposed in the general election. She was re-elected without major-party opposition in both 2020 and 2024, and defeated a Republican challenger 60%-33% in 2022.
Lawson's official biography highlights the following policy areas as legislative focuses: "education, public health, protections for senior citizens, and the East Providence community."[4] In a January 2025 interview with the Rhode Island Current, Lawson described her political philosphy as: "I believe in government, and I believe government can work for people. We’re here to put in structures to uplift people, to be advocates for them."[2]
Biography
Valarie Lawson was born in East Providence, Rhode Island in 1966.[6] She earned her bachelor's degree in secondary education and her master's degree in education from Rhode Island College. Her professional experience includes teaching U.S. history and civics at East Providence High School and serving as president of the East Providence Education Association. She was elected president of the National Education Association's Rhode Island chapter in 2023.[4][7]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Lawson was assigned to the following committees:
- Health and Human Services Committee
- Special Legislation and Veterans' Affairs
- Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight Committee, Vice Chair
2021-2022
Lawson was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Lawson was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
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
2024
See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Incumbent Valarie Lawson won election in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Valarie Lawson (D) | 94.2 | 8,936 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 5.8 | 554 | ||
| Total votes: 9,490 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Incumbent Valarie Lawson defeated Brian Coogan in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on September 10, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson | 75.3 | 1,558 |
| Brian Coogan | 24.7 | 512 | ||
| Total votes: 2,070 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Lawson in this election.
2022
See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Incumbent Valarie Lawson defeated David O'Connell and Nicholas Ferrara in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson (D) | 59.9 | 4,856 |
| David O'Connell (R) | 33.2 | 2,697 | ||
| Nicholas Ferrara (Independent) | 6.8 | 552 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 7 | ||
| Total votes: 8,112 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Incumbent Valarie Lawson defeated Megan Duckworth in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on September 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson | 62.2 | 2,043 |
 | Megan Duckworth | 37.8 | 1,244 | |
| Total votes: 3,287 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
David O'Connell advanced from the Republican primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on September 13, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | David O'Connell | 100.0 | 423 | |
| Total votes: 423 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2020
See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Incumbent Valarie Lawson defeated Major Pettaway in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson (D) | 72.3 | 8,062 |
| Major Pettaway (Independent) | 27.1 | 3,017 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 68 | ||
| Total votes: 11,147 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Incumbent Valarie Lawson advanced from the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on September 8, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson | 100.0 | 1,011 |
| Total votes: 1,011 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Valarie Lawson won election in the general election for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson (D) | 96.1 | 6,867 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.9 | 281 | ||
| Total votes: 7,148 | |||
| = 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
- Joseph Botelho Jr. (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14
Valarie Lawson defeated Delmar Branco Corndinho in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island State Senate District 14 on September 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Valarie Lawson | 57.9 | 2,023 |
| Delmar Branco Corndinho | 42.1 | 1,470 | ||
| Total votes: 3,493 | |||
| = 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
- Deborah Perry (D)
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Valarie Lawson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Valarie Lawson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Valarie Lawson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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.
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.
Scorecards
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.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 2 to June 14.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 3 to June 16.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 4 to June 23.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 5 to July 1.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Rhode Island State Legislature was in session from January 7 to August 30.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Rhode Island General Assembly was in session from January 1 through June 30.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Rhode Island State Senate District 14 |
Officeholder Rhode Island State Senate District 14 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC6, "Rhode Island Senate elects new Senate President following death of Ruggerio," April 29, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rhode Island Current, “Lawson has her lesson plan ready for the R.I. Senate" accessed January 7, 2025
- ↑ The Newport Daily News, "RI Senate elects teachers union head Valarie Lawson as its new president. What to know." April 30, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "Senator Valarie J. Lawson," accessed May 15, 2025
- ↑ Valerie Lawson's 2022 campaign website, "Home," accessed May 15, 2025
- ↑ Vote Smart, "Valerie Lawson's Biography," accessed September 2, 2025
- ↑ Valerie Lawson's 2022 campaign website, "Home," accessed May 15, 2025
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Daniel DaPonte (D) |
Rhode Island State Senate District 14 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
