Man, we’re really getting into the weeds here — but that’s what SSP is all about. Rhode Island’s Republican Governor, Don Carcieri (who nearly lost in 2006), will be term-limited out of office in 2011. Who should and will run for the Governor’s mansion in 2010? And are there any Republicans on the Rhode Island bench who stand a plausible chance of holding this office for the Reds?
34 thoughts on “RI-Gov: Statewide Recruitment Thread”
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In 2010, I don’t know what our problem is. Seriously, this is ripe for the picking.
So who do we have? Kennedy? Langevin? Any other statewide officers looking for a promotion?
Mayor of Providence, solid progressive, and, as it happens, would be the first non-incumbent openly gay governor in our country’s history.
The Repubs? Maybe that dude who almost knocked out Chafee, Stephen Laffey? I imagine he could win a primary, then be a joke in the general no matter who we have running.
Speaking of Chafee, any chance he runs for the Dems?
Might run for the Dems
For the Democrats
Cicilline is likely to run, but would probably run into problems with his family (his brother’s an idiot, who’s created some scandels for him). Also, for some reason Providence’s mayors have had problems running for statewide office historically (even before Cianci was known as a criminal he had problems and he was very popular in Providence).
Elizabeth Roberts will likely run. She’s the current Lieutenant Governor. Generally has been competent and successful. No major scandals or issues.
Mollis is the Secretary of State. He just got the office so he may hold off on running for Governor, but it’s definately part of his long term plans.
You might also see Fogarty or York run again. Not sure if either of them would be successful. York has a long history of losing, and Fogarty couldn’t beat Carceri in 2006.
For Independents:
Chafee – it’s fairly widely recognized he’s going to run for either Governor or Mayor of Providence. If he runs I doubt it would be on the Republican ticket since he publicly seperated from the party. However he also hasn’t joined the Democratic Party yet so it’s hard to say how successful he could be.
For Republicans:
Your guess is as good as mine. There’s no one in the legislature (they’ve got like 6 people total). So it would probably end up being another business-type. Look for rich, corporate guys based in RI and there’s your list of possible candidates.
As a Rhode Islander who reads the national perspective a ton, I don’t think the sanguine hopes for picking up the governor’s seat are entirely warranted.
We’ve got democratic super-majorities everywhere, which can in fact be detrimental to the state party. Our state government has the reputation of being extremely corrupt and extremely ineffectual; despite being ranked #49 (out of 54 states and territories) in number of convicted politicians and still only #34 in convictions per capita, we’re #1 when it comes to reporters’ opinions of how corrupt out state government is (NYTimes). That means our citizens think state government is far more corrupt than it actually is, and since state government is synonymous with democrats, the blame falls almost entirely to them. Thus, the decade and a half of republicans from the private sector holding the state’s highest office.
I don’t see why 2010 looks any different than 2006, 2002, 1998, or 1994 at the state level (and certainly not why it looks any better), so I don’t see any particular reason for boundless optimism about picking up the open seat.
Also, re: Cicilline. Buddy Cianci was a very popular mayor of Providence who served for 10 years, assaulted a man who was having an affair with his wife, resigned from office, began a very successful career on talk radio, eventually ran for re-election, served another 10 years as mayor, got convicted and sent to prison (for extortion, racketeering, conspiracy, etc.), and recently got out on parole. He currently has another very successful talk radio show. Despite how awful his history sounds, he did some spectacular things for the city of Providence, and would very likely win election again were he to run (I personally believe that when his period of probation ends in 2012, he will). His current show, however, basically serves as a pulpit from which he can trash Cicilline at every given opportunity and remind gullible listeners of how much better Providence was under his watch. Altogether, this paints a much bleaker picture for Cicilline, especially when you factor in the conservative Catholic (ie, secretly homophobic) sector of the state’s democratic party. Granted, I get cynical during the winter, but I’m afraid that Cicilline might end up one more near miss for RI dems.
Also, I don’t remember where I read it, but Chafee has stated that he will not run with either party in the future. He’s a full-fledged Independent now, and that might actually be the best thing for us.
There are a lot of potential candidates out there looking at the open gubernatorial seat in RI, but there is one that stands out above all the candidates in every party.
Elizabeth Roberts served as a State Senator for 10 years before being elected as RI’s first woman Lt. Governor in 2006. She has always been a progressive, forward-looking, and independent public servant. She is in it to help the state, not advance her own career. Unlike some of the other candidates, she is not tied to the party machine and has fought for lots of progressive causes, from equal rights and women’s rights to possibly the most important moral and economic issue our country faces – making health care affordable and accessible to all. She is a nationally-recognized leader on health care issues, and could do even more to advance health care as Governor.
The other Democratic candidates, though, are:
1. Frank Caprio – former State Senator and first-term State Treasurer, he is a member of one of the most powerful political families in the state
2. Patrick Lynch – the term-limited Attorney General, and brother of the State Party Chair
3. David Cicilline – the Mayor of Providence, is also a solid progressive, but seems less likely to run based on some of the issues already mentioned, including the City’s poor reaction to last year’s snow storm, his brother’s legal troubles, and the worsening economic conditions in Providence. Many seem to want him to stay as Mayor and finish the job of rejuvenating the capital city.
Other people mentioned, such as former State Senator/’94,’98,’02 candidate Myrth York, former Lt. Gov./’06 candidate Charlie Fogarty, and former Congressman Bob Weygand are unlikely to run considering how crowded the field already is, and the fundraising head starts of the other 4 Democrats. Congressmen Kennedy and Langevin are unlikely to give up their House seats for anything but the US Senate.
The Republicans:
1. Steve Laffey – former Mayor of Cranston (3rd largest city), lost ’06 Senate primary to Lincoln Chafee seems likely to run but would probably not win unless the Democrat was badly bloodied in the primary
2. Scott Avedisian – popular, moderate-ish Mayor of Warwick (2nd largest city), could have tough primary with Laffey but would be harder GOP in the general election. Unlikely to run if Chafee is running as an Independent.
The GOP Caucus in the legislature has been decimated, and it is unlikely there is a Rep/Sen who will run even one who just lost, but it is possible one will be put up to oppose Laffey. Also, Don Carcieri came out of nowhere in ’02 to run so they could find some businessperson but I doubt it. Also, Sue Stenhouse the ’06 GOP Secretary of State candidate could put up a good fight, but haven’t heard her name mentioned much.
The Independents:
Former Senator Lincoln Chafee has already been mentioned. He is rumored to be considering a run for Governor or Mayor of Providence as an Independent. If he runs for Governor as an Independent, it could be a tough 3-way race, but a Democrat could still win. Without question, Chafee has taken some good positions, but he is still not as progressive as many of the Democrats in this race. A real Democrat deserves progressive support over Chafee, who for years sat by and enabled the Republican Senate Majority to help create the current conditions in our country.
Patrick Lynch should be our candidate, he’s got a good profile.
and came along this. She’s got my support.
That would guarantee us a moderately-progressive Chafee in whatever office (probably governor, based on what I’ve read here).
As for those people who complain about him sitting idly by while the GOP Senate caucus ruined the nation, keep in mind that he’s been one of the least powerful, if not //the// least powerful, Senate Republican, during his time in the Senate.