Rhode Island is a state that even presidential candidates avoid. Essentially, it’s already won for the Democrats, so what’s the point of campaigning there? The state is seen as blue as the ocean, as it has almost always voted for a Democrat since the 1900s. However, Rhode Island as a whole represents itself as quite a different color. This color instead resembles more of a purple state that pretends it’s blue. These politics have left the state in a position where progress is slow and ultimately, a progressive is seen as someone who is a bit off the deep end, someone who would change things too quickly. With that, let’s take a dive into this purple ocean.
Looking at the governor’s seat, it has mostly leaned Democrat, with several Republicans being voted in throughout the years. Even when a Democrat was elected, it sometimes occurred at the expense of beating out a progressive. In addition, when looking at our state legislator, while it’s been overwhelmingly Democrat, those elected have been infamously known to oscillate between centrist and occasionally leaning into Republican ideologies, making much of the legislator quite center overall. Lastly, in even some of the most progressive cities in the state, moderate democrats are almost always the ones in the mayoral seat.
Now, looking at whom the state chooses to represent itself nationally, just recently, a Republican representative in the district 2 election was almost elected. However, instead going for the moderate Democrat, Seth Magaziner, over the progressive, David Segal. Going back to the lieutenant governor race of 2018, we opted for the moderate Dan McKee over the progressive Aaron Regunberg. This election was pivotal as it had some of the biggest impacts in the state as Gina Raimundo had left soon after, leading the lieutenant to assume charge. In addition, McKee’s opponent, Regunberg, would soon be entrenched in another hotly contested election just a few years later.
The election in question is the 2023 district 1 special election to replace David Cicilline in the US House of Representatives, where Regunberg ran as the progressive candidate. Unfortunately, in line with historical trends, Rhode Island ultimately favored the moderate candidate, Gabe Amo. The Boston Globe quoted the victory as “He [Amo] established himself as the clear, more moderate alternative to Aaron Regunberg, the progressive who was backed by US Senator Bernie Sanders.”
This special election highlighted a recurring pattern in the country’s smallest state. Analyzing at how it unfolded, it was expected. Never before has a progressive won any major seat anywhere in Rhode Island, and this time was no different. The vast amount of candidates running meant voters had to vote pragmatically. A Republican or progressive was too radical, so it was almost certain that one of the moderates was going to take it. Of course, it played out in accordance with history, so let’s dissect what happened and this ongoing issue that plagues Rhode Island.
The winner of the special election was Gabe Amo, an experienced career politician. Drawing from experience, Amo had identified a clear path for winning. In the debates, he emphasized that his primary concerns were seniors and Medicare, while also advocating to keep the military budget as is. Other issues, such as the environment and the Green New Deal, student loans, worker wellbeing, and corporate accountability took a backseat. All of this combined was an optimal strategy as Rhode Island suffers from low turnout (12% in this election) and the fact that the younger generations, despite supporting progressive notions, have the lowest turnouts in Rhode Island. This meant if you wanted to win, you had to appeal to the older generations and take up more moderate positions.
Interestingly, Gabe Amo wasn’t really known before this. Sabina Matos and Sandra Cano were poised to be the top contenders. However, Gabe Amo’s answers to questions and his ability to deflect his corporate PAC money and lobbying controversy made him an appealing, clean candidate. Most of Amo’s answers were broad to appease the masses, and with the addition of his warm demeanor and bright smile, he quickly became the most pragmatic moderate to consolidate votes for. To top it off, Amo’s team publicly launched findings of their internal poll that predicted Regunberg would win and positioning Amo in second. This very well may have encouraged the moderate voters to come together to cast their votes for Amo instead of the several other candidates to beat out the predicted first place progressive.
As the votes came in, as anticipated, Regunberg won the liberal Providence but was overwhelmed by the voters in the more affluent, older, high turnout, and righter leaning cities that put Amo ahead. Despite endorsements from Bernie, AOC, unions, local progressives, and environmental organizations, Rhode Island once again, simply did not want a progressive. This also sets a gloomy precedent for progressives in this state. Even if you get all the endorsements in the world and have a stellar local track record of putting in the work, it’s still not enough.
As a young, local progressive, I notice the ramifications of moderate Democrats being elected here. Discussing politics with my fellow Rhode Islanders, it’s often asked, “Why isn’t anything getting done around here?” and “Why is everything so slow, we have a huge Democrat majority!” The answer I reply with is: “Rhode Island continues to elect moderate Democrats both locally and to represent us nationally, of course progress will be slow because their policies maintain the status quo.” From my point of view, it’s a frustrating, revolving circle with a clear solution: vote progressive so we can push the bounds of the Democratic Party to achieve true progress.
This has severely weighed on me and my hope for this state to turn things around. What’s especially bothersome about this election specifically is that Regunberg had it all. From huge endorsements, championing some of the biggest wins the state ever had when he was a local representative, being an avid writer, all the way to volunteering for local orgs and constantly being found on the picket lines and rallies as evidenced by local news and his public social medias (here, and here). All the while doing this, he attained a law degree from Harvard. He was authentic, never needlessly attacked those in debates, and was one of the most passionate, genuine people I have ever met. The outcome of this special election, despite expecting it, is depressing.
Will this be the last time we see Aaron Regunberg? If you are active in creating local change, certainly not, however, any form of him being a politician is now up in the air. Shortly after taking second place, Regunberg posted to his social media stating, “… I’m going to be starting a new job as Senior Climate Policy Advocate at Public Citizen, continuing the work I’ve committed my life to – fighting to take on Big Oil to win real climate action.”
In summary, many of us hope this isn’t the end of our progressive hero. Moreover, the issues we face in Rhode Island and its politics will remain until we recognize that continuing to elect exclusively moderate Democrats leads nowhere. A potential solution to this is to increase younger voter turnout, but as far as I understand, that’s been an ongoing, mostly unsolved issue. The silver lining, however, is that progressives have the long game as the younger generation gets older and is more willing to participate. Unfortunately, climate change and many of the issues plaguing us today are impatient and unyielding.
Another article with a great take on progressivism and this special election was written by Prospect.org, see here.