The Ocean State’s version of a blue wave: 10 Republicans left in the legislature

Not much left of the GOP - or LORIB

By Nancy Lavin, Rhode Island Current

Richmond Town Council President Samantha Wilcox, center,
defeated six-term Republican Sen. Elaine Morgan
for the Senate District 34 seat in Tuesday’s general election.
At left is Lynn Gamwell and at right is
Hayden Kendall, her campaign manager. (Photo by Deb Carney)

Democratic dominance of the Rhode Island General Assembly deepened Tuesday night, after five incumbent lawmakers — four Republicans and one independent — were ousted by challengers from the left.

The results leave just 10 Republicans in the 113-member legislature, down from 14.

That includes two GOP members of the 38-person Senate, and eight out of 75 in the House. And there’s still one independent, as former Republican darling Allan Fung, now disaffiliated and at odds with GOP leaders, won his wife’s old House seat in Cranston.

But don’t mistake a handful of upsets for a harbinger of change on Smith Hill. Excluding open seats, 95% of state lawmakers who won Tuesday are incumbents. Reelection was all but guaranteed for most due to the absence of serious opponents — or any at all.

“There’s no sea change in Rhode Island state government based on these results,” said Adam Myers, associate professor of political science at Providence College. “Republicans were already a non-factor. Essentially, now, they’re going to be even less of a factor.”

The absence of change in the legislature stands in stark contrast to Congress as Democrats flipped at least 30 Republican-held seats, notching enough victories to control both chambers. 

Yet, the Ocean State’s few progressive pickups could stem from the same national rebuke of Trump that led to Democratic victories nationwide, Myers said. 

“The fact that this happened in very different parts of the state, everywhere from Woonsocket, to Cranston, to Exeter, suggests to me that the best way to explain it is, these were nationalized races,” Myers said. “Voters in Rhode Island were primarily acting on, or responding to, national changes.”

Woonsocket’s about-face

Perhaps the clearest example was in Rhode Island’s House District 49 where independent Rep. Jon Brien (LORIB endorsed) lost to progressive-backed Democrat Veronicka Vega by nearly 5 points. 

Brien, a former Democratic state representative from Woonsocket who became an independent before his second, non-consecutive legislative career began in 2022, espoused conservative stances on taxes, the Israel-Hamas War and COVID-era public health rules. And Woonsocket voted for Trump in 2024 — the first time the northernmost city backed a Republican presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

“As the lone independent in the House, I couldn’t help but get swept up in a confluence of political events that seemingly affected elected leaders across the country,” Brien said in an email. “It seems that this election cycle was less about the candidate and more about the candidate’s ideology.

Vega, 26, was a first-time candidate who put her personal story of facing homelessness, poverty and food insecurity — and the social safety net programs that helped support her — at the heart of her campaign. She was backed by the Rhode Island Working Families Party, Reclaim RI and Affordable RI, among other progressive groups.

To Dan Denvir, co-chair of Reclaim RI, Vega’s victory shows voters’ appetite for progressive politics extends beyond Providence.

“There are poor and working-class families all over this state who oppose MAGA extremism and the corporate Democratic politics that allowed MAGA extremism to happen,” Denvir said. 

Vega did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Across the state in Senate District 34, voters also moved left in electing Democratic challenger Samantha Wilcox over 12-year Republican incumbent Sen. Elaine Morgan (LORIB endorsed).

Wilcox, 37, a paralegal and Richmond Town Council president, didn’t think her victory meant anything about a progressive shift in the rural, western district spanning parts of Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich.

“We canvassed thousands of doors, regardless of political party,” Wilcox said. “That’s what our district was looking for, someone who listens to both sides.”

Limitations on solar development on rural land, property taxes and housing were what voters wanted to talk about, not political party, Wilcox said.

Morgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Four’s a crowd 

The Senate GOP also lost 10-year incumbent Sen. Thomas Paolino (LORIB endorsed), who was defeated by Democrat Nelly Burdette in a four-way race with two independent candidates. The number of names on the ballot — the most of any state legislative race — likely contributed to Paolino’s loss, Myers said.

Indeed, the 2,000 votes combined for the two independents, Jina Petrarca and John Barr II, is four times the 500-vote margin between Burdette and Paolino, according to preliminary, unofficial results Tuesday night.

Paolino also pointed to the split as the reason for his loss.

“I don’t believe the results are indicative of what 57% of District 17 wants,” Paolino said in a text message Wednesday morning.

He did not call Burdette to concede because he said he did not have her number.

But Denvir with Reclaim, which helped canvas for Burdette, argued that the two independents, both of whom ran for and held office before as Democrats, likely siphoned votes away from Burdette, rather than Paolino.

Burdette, a Ukrainian refugee, clinical psychologist and first-time candidate, said she began canvassing the district in April, well before any of her opponents. The Working Families Party also supported Burdette.

Party ideology came up much less than concerns over healthcare access and energy bills, Burdette said.

“People liked that I was part of the community, not from the political world,” Burdette said Wednesday.

However, Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz warned of the consequences from an even more imbalanced legislature.

“Rhode Islanders are already struggling with some of the highest electricity costs in the country, an increasingly unaffordable cost of living, and a state government that continues to spend more while delivering too little,” de la Cruz, a North Smithfield Republican, said in a statement. “The last thing taxpayers need is even less scrutiny of the decisions being made on Smith Hill.”

The Fung factor

A three-person competition for Cranston’s House District 15 may have also helped Fung defeat freshman Republican Rep. Chris Paplauskas, Myers said. The race, which also included Democrat Colleen Crudele, grew contentious in the final weeks before the election, driven by a rift between the Fungs and Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins, for whom Paplauskas works as chief of staff. Fung’s wife, Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung ran and lost to Hopkins in the 2024 mayoral primary. Her mayoral campaign opened up the legislative seat, which Paplauskas won by 26 votes in 2024. 

Paplauskas did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday, though both he and Crudele called Fung to concede, according to Fenton-Fung.

“I’m incredibly humbled and honored to make history as the first Asian American elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives, but what means even more to me is the trust people of Cranston have placed in me once again,” Fung said in a statement. 

Fung served 12 years as city mayor, and has run twice for governor and once for U.S. Congress, all as a Republican. He disaffiliated this spring, prompting criticism from state party officials including House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale.

“It will be interesting to see how a man who once thought himself gubernatorial and congressional material will operate as but one of 75 in a room that doesn’t embrace independence and rejects disloyalty,” Chippendale, a Foster Republican, said of Fung. 

Chippendale, too, blamed national sentiment for GOP losses.

“Rhode Islanders were beaten over the head, day after day and hour after hour, with ads about Donald Trump,” he said. “One might think Trump was running in every RI race. Even after all those ads, I’m still waiting to hear what the Democrats who ran them intend to do about the electric bill, the shortage of primary care doctors or the cost of buying a home in this state.”

A second freshman GOP representative, Richard Fascia (LORIB endorsed) of Johnston, also lost his reelection campaign to Democrat Edward Stravato.

Stravato, 40, a lawyer and small-business owner, credited his “old school” campaign — heavy on handwritten letters with little-to-no social media presence — for his victory.

“I think it speaks more to our campaign than it does a blue wave,” said Stravato.

The district spanning Johnston and Cranston backed Trump in the last three elections. Stravato said he identifies as a moderate Democrat, “not a liberal.”

Stravato said Fascia had called him to congratulate him earlier Wednesday morning.

Fascia did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Almost no luck for The League of RI Businesses 

Conservative political group The League of RI Businesses notched one victory from its efforts to put more “business-minded” candidates in the legislature. League-backed Republican Michael Riley defeated Democrat Shaina Smith in the open House District 42 seat, which includes all of Scituate and a piece of Cranston. Riley will succeed Republican Rep. Robert Quattrocchi, who chose not to run for reelection after 10 years in office. EDITOR'S NOTE: LORIB endorsed 8 conservative incumbents. Three lost their seats to Democrats. Riley was the only non-incumbent LORIB candidate to win. Seven of Levesque's House picks for the House lost.  - Will Collette

Dave Levesque, co-founder of The League and owner of Brewed Awakenings coffeehouses, said he was disappointed but not surprised by The League’s low success rate among its endorsed legislative candidates.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons,” Levesque said, citing the need for better vetting of candidates, and being more selective in the process.

The League bypassed the $2,000 per candidate per year donation limit in state law by setting up a political action committee for every city and town in the state. Levesque acknowledged that campaign finance strategy might have worked better if money was spent on advertising and outreach, rather than poured into candidates’ campaign accounts directly.

“It’s not just about money, you need a strong ground game,” Levesque said.

He was unbothered by the prospect of campaign finance reforms championed by lawmakers and good government groups like Common Cause Rhode Island seeking to prevent The League from leveraging multiple PACs to donate more money to candidates.

“There’s ways around it,” Levesque said. “That’s the least of what we have to worry about. The problem now is, what’s going to happen in the General Assembly? What bills and laws are they going to pass that make Rhode Island not as business-friendly as it needs to be?”

Open seat races 

Other open seat races decided Tuesday include:

• Providence House District 7: Democrat Amy Santiago defeated Republican Chris Ireland (LORIB endorsed).
• Providence House District 12: Democrat Arlette Hidalgo ran unopposed.
• Warwick House District 22: Democrat Zak Pereira defeated Republican Barbara Quigley (LORIB endorsed).
• Warwick House District 23: Democrat William Muto defeated Republican Dana James Traversie (LORIB endorsed).
• West Warwick/Coventry/Warwick House District 27: Democrat Angela Coburn defeated Republican Lawrence Almagno Jr. (LORIB endorsed)
• North Kingstown House District 31: Democrat Jim Sheehan ran unopposed.
• North Kingstown House District 32: Democrat Robert Craven Jr. ran unopposed.
• Barrington/Warren House District 67: Democrat Nicole Jellinek defeated independent Joseph DePasquale.

• November 5, 20266:16 am. This story has been updated to correct the number of Republican lawmakers in the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Rhode Island Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com.

He's getting worse

Da, comrade

New Pancreatic Cancer Vaccine Sparked Immune Responses in 99% of Patients

Hope in fight against one of the deadliest cancers

By Carly Cassella

Pancreatic cancer is incredibly difficult to shake.

Even after surgery or chemotherapy, the disease may never go away completely.

By some estimates, malignant tumors in the pancreas can recur in up to 80 percent of patients.

Those with certain gene mutations appear particularly at risk of the disease returning.

A new clinical trial, led by a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, has put a potential vaccine to the test.

In a randomized phase 2 trial, nearly every patient who received this vaccine developed an immune response against a mutated gene called KRAS.

Mutations in KRAS are found in about 90 percent of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, which is the most common type of pancreatic cancer.

If a medicine can target cells that express these mutations, it could theoretically keep the cancer at bay.

This does not prove that this vaccine can stop pancreatic cancer from coming back, but these are hopeful signs, especially since other cancer vaccines have shown similar immune responses are linked to improved survival.

The findings are published in Nature Medicine.

Scientists Discover a Surprising Dental Benefit of Cranberry Juice

The catch: Applies to unsugared juice, not sweetened

By University of Illinois at Chicago

In a small human study, unsweetened pure cranberry juice was linked to slower plaque regrowth and lower acid production, hinting at a possible oral health benefit.

Cranberry juice has a reputation for being tart, acidic, and often sugary, qualities that might seem poorly suited to protecting teeth. A small human study from the University of Illinois Chicago, however, found that unsweetened pure cranberry juice was associated with slower dental plaque regrowth and lower acid production.

UIC College of Dentistry researcher Christine Wu examined whether compounds naturally found in cranberries could affect dental plaque bacteria, which feed on sugars and produce acids that contribute to enamel decay. Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins, anti-inflammatory compounds known for their ability to interfere with the attachment of bacteria such as E. coli to cells.

“Just like sugar damage is linked to diet, I’m interested in how the food and beverages we consume can help combat the harmful bacteria and benefit our oral health,” Wu said.

The White House felt the need to post this on their official site

 Not MY president!

Behind progressive wins in Rhode Island

RI Working Families Party: Working-class champions win across Rhode Island

SteveAhlquist.news

Megan won by 20 points. Other South County Democratic
 women were endorsed by RIWFP and won: Rep.
Teresa Tanzi, Sen. Victoria Gu and Sen. Alana DiMario

From a RI Working Families Party press release

The Rhode Island Working Families Party (RIWFP) is celebrating massive general election victories that mark growing power for working people in Rhode Island state politics. Two first-time candidates – Veronicka Vega and Dr. Nelly Burdette – unseated conservative, corporate-backed Republican and independent incumbents, joining working-class voters nationwide in delivering a clear message: enough is enough.

Dr. Nelly Burdette, a clinical psychologist and Lincoln mom, unseated Senate Deputy Minority Leader Thomas Paolino in Senate District 17. She will be the first woman to represent the district and the first psychologist in the Rhode Island Senate. [See: Nelly Burdette is running for State Senate District 17]

In Woonsocket, Veronicka Vega defeated Representative Jon Brien, Rhode Island State Chair of the corporate lobby ALEC, and will be the first person of color to represent House District 49 – or any Woonsocket seat. [See: Veronicka Vega wants to represent Rhode Island House District 49, Woonsocket and North Smithfield]

RIWFP and our partners built and powered both campaigns, without significant help from the Democratic Party establishment. For the past six weeks, volunteers have been hitting doors, holding phonebanks, and texting voters to get out the vote for these two working-family champions. These wins enable both the WFP-aligned Senators and Representatives and the Democratic caucus to pick up a seat in each chamber.

Release the unredacted Epstein files

Expectations...

Satire from The Onion

Works for Donald

Duct tape kept out more flood water than sandbags in laboratory tests

Greatest invention since the wheel

Stuart McLelland, University of Hull

Build your own escape raft

Could a cheap roll of duct tape help protect your home from flooding? New research suggests it could make a surprisingly big difference.

In controlled tests, correctly applied duct tape on the outside of a household door reduced water leakage by 97-98%. The findings suggest that a simple low-cost measure could substantially reduce the amount of water entering a home during a flood. This is important as one of the key lessons from flood resilience research is that the best time to protect a property is before floodwater arrives.

The UK government’s 2025 FloodReady Review called for practical, affordable measures that help households understand their risks and to prepare for flooding. And one potential contribution to this agenda might sound unlikely, at first glance.

Duct tape is more commonly associated with household repairs than flood protection. However, tests colleagues and I conducted at the University of Hull demonstrated how much water can enter a property through an unprotected doorway during a flood.

Inside our laboratory we tested modern wooden, uPVC and composite household doors, installed by trade professionals. We captured any water that leaked through the door in a sealed enclosure behind the door, as we increased water depth in 5cm increments to a maximum depth of 60cm. We pumped out any water that leaked through the door and continuously measured the rate of water leakage to evaluate the performance of doors and different types of protection applied to them.

When testing sandbags we stacked 54 sandbags with plastic sheeting between the door and the sandbags. For tape, the same person applied the tape for all tests to minimize any bias. It took about 10-20 minutes to apply the tape to each door.

For unprotected doors, leakage often reached thousands of liters per hour at 60cm water depth. Applying duct tape across the external door reduced that leakage by 97-98%. Specialist sealing tapes achieved even greater reductions.

Protein can help build and preserve muscle, but eating more has its limits

As with all food choices, put some thought into what you choose to eat

Dominic Farsi, Teagasc; King's College London; Queen's University Belfast

DON'T be this guy!

High protein content has become a selling point on foods ranging from breakfast cereals to yoghurts. For anyone hoping to build muscle or stay strong as they age, choosing the product with the most protein can seem sensible. But whether an extra serving will help depends on what they already eat and how they use their muscles.

Someone who regularly lifts weights may benefit from additional protein to support muscle growth. An older person with a small appetite may need help getting enough to maintain strength. Someone already eating enough protein may gain little from adding more.

Understanding those differences can make it easier to decide whether to change your diet, buy a supplement or concentrate on exercise.

Muscle tissue is continually being broken down and rebuilt. Dietary protein supplies amino acids, the small molecules the body uses to make its own proteins, including those in muscle.

Resistance exercise makes muscles work against a load. That load might come from weights or from your own body during an exercise such as press-ups. It stimulates the processes involved in building and repairing muscle, allowing muscles to adapt to repeated demands.

Protein supports this adaptation, but increasing intake does not reproduce the effects of exercise.

A review of 49 trials involving 1,863 participants found that protein supplements produced additional improvements in muscle size and strength during resistance training. Participants were training for at least six weeks. The findings therefore concern protein’s contribution to a training program, rather than the effects of adding a shake to an otherwise unchanged routine.

For someone already eating enough protein, establishing a manageable strength-training routine may be more useful than searching for another high-protein snack.

Dolores Huerta, Chicana activist and defender of farmworker rights, dies at 96

A life well spent

Jessica Kutz, Climate Reporter

This story was originally reported by Jessica Kutz of The 19th. Meet Jessica and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.

Dolores Huerta, who rose to national prominence as the co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association and was known for her advocacy for women farmworkers, died on October 28. She was 96. 

Long recognized for her lifelong dedication to farmworkers, Huerta’s fight against injustice — and the sacrifices she made in that fight –  reemerged in the wider public consciousness this year when she spoke of being sexually assaulted and raped by César Chávez, the farmworker movement’s most visible leader. Her revelation was just one more act of speaking out in a life dedicated to justice.

Huerta was born in New Mexico but spent most of her life in California’s Central Valley, an agricultural hub where a quarter of the country’s food is grown. 

After graduating college, she became an elementary school teacher. A majority of her students were the children of migrant farmworkers. She left teaching when she realized that she could better use her talents to help their parents fight issues like wage theft and poor working and living conditions. She is widely quoted as saying: “I couldn’t tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farmworkers than by trying to teach their hungry children.”

She left the school to work at the Community Service Organization, a Latino civil rights group.  In 1955 she helped start the Stockton chapter of the organization, which is where she met Chávez, a rising Chicano leader. The two went on to create the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA). 

One of the first major actions she undertook was helping organize the Delano Grape Strike in 1965, a five-year strike that was started by Filipino workers who were fighting for higher wages. About a week into the strike, NFWA joined the movement with 1,200 Mexican laborers. The two groups representing the strikers eventually merged to become the United Farm Workers (UFW), a labor union. 

As part of the UFW’s work to fight for better working conditions and union contracts, Huerta went to New York to organize a national boycott against table grapes. There she met the feminist leader Gloria Steinem, who in 1968 flew out to California to march with the striking farmworkers. 

While Huerta was the lead negotiator for the grape worker contracts that resulted from the organizing, her contributions and leadership during the strikes and subsequent boycotts were often overshadowed by Chávez. It was Huerta who coined the ¡Sí Se Puede! chant, which means “yes, it can be done” and came to define the farmworker movement – but the phrase has been erroneously credited to him over the years. The phrase continues to be a rallying cry of activists across the country, and more recently has been used by politicians like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former President Barack Obama.

UPDATED: Mid-term election results

How big will the Blue Wave be? It's certainly big in Charlestown and Rhode Island

Another really bad night for LORIB

By Will Collette

UPDATE: Clearly, we won't need to wait to appreciate the scope of yesterday's Blue Tsunami and Donald Trump's massive loss. Democrats took both Houses of Congress as well as numerous Governorships and state houses across the country. 

Now we wait to see what King Donald does.

Locally, the overnight tallies did not change the results I reported last night. Notably, Samantha Wilcox's win over incumbent state Senator Elaine Morgan (MAGA-R, representing the northern half of Charlestown) is now solid at 52.6% to Morgan's 47.35%. That's a margin of just under 700 votes. Rep. Megan Cotter (D) margin in winning her third term increased from 15% to 20%.

Charlestown's controversial Question 7 to reduce Planning Commission terms from 6 years to 4 remains uncertain. The "reject" votes outnumber the "accept" votes by just 3.   

The Chariho School Construction bond question appears to have passed by a slim margin, thanks to Charlestown's votes. 

The Westerly Sun reports:

"Charlestown had the most voters supporting the bond with 2,450 votes, while Hopkinton had the least, 1,521, with 2,060 Hopkinton voters voting no. In Richmond, 1,670 people voted yes, and 1,886 voted no."

The Sun got the Richmond numbers wrong - it was 1886 YES to 1670 NO. 

By last count, with 5,857 yes to 5,292 no votes, the bond to construct a new unified elementary school on the site of the existing Charlestown Elementary passed by 565 votes. 

And here is Dear Leader's first take on the results:

It will probably take a while for all of the votes to be counted so we can find out whether the Democrats take both houses of Congress. Or what Donald Trump will do after that.

But we do have enough votes counted to reliably report who won and lost here in Charlestown plus contested General Assembly seats in South County. The final counts may change a percentage point or two when all mail-in and early votes are counted, but that will matter only in very close races.

Congratulations to Sam Wilcox for flipping incumbent state Senator Elaine Morgan's seat by a likely margin of 53% to 47%.

Brewed Awakenings' owner Dave Levesque continues to see his money circle the drain. His 40 League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB) political action committees backed all the wrong candidates. Levesque had endorsed Elaine Morgan who was the only flipped seat in South County.

His other South County candidates all lost to Democratic incumbents mostly by very large margins:

• Sen. Victoria Gu won by 24 points
• Rep. Carol McEntee won by 20 points
• Rep. Kathy Fogarty won by 30 points
• Rep. Megan Cotter won by 15 points
• Rep. Sam Azzinaro won by the largest margin - 33 points 

In Charlestown, Charlestown Residents United (CRU) maintains its 4-1 majority on the Town Council. The Council will also have the first Democratic majority in the 25 years I've lived here with the election of incumbent Council President Deb Carney, Cynthia Drummond in third place and Jill Fonneman who came in fourth. 

Deb, Cynthia and Jill, all elected

In a surprise, at least to me, the least competent Council incumbent, CCA 's Bonnita Van Slyke, came in second. CRU incumbent Steve Stokes (R) keeps his seat with a 5th place finish. Incumbent Craig Marr (R) loses his seat with a 7th place finish. 

The big disappointment for the night was Ruth Platner's big win in getting her entire slate of CCA-bots elected to the Planning Commission. That plus her first-place finish get her another six years to block every project she doesn't like. 

Platner probably eked out another goal - rejection of Charlestown Question 7 which would have reduced the terms of Planning Commission from the current six years to four. As of this writing at 11:30 PM, the margin was down to only 3 votes for the CCA position to reject reducing PC terms.

Richmond Blue Wave

All four Richmond Democrats running for Town Council won, along with one Republican. That sole Republican WAS NOT Justin Price, former state Representative and J6 insurrectionist. Price's campaign pitch was based on his time in the General Assembly which was a pretty bad strategy given how awful he was. This was his third comeback attempt.

Westerly sweep.

Democrats swept town offices, with every Democrat winning and all Republicans losing, giving Blue Wave control in the Town Council and Westerly School Committee. Democrats won everything that wasn't nailed down.

Hopkinton didn't go quite so Blue

Their Town Council is now split between an independent top-vote getter, two Republicans and two Democrats.

Dems won two of three of their Chariho School Committee seats, one of them going to Greg Avedisian, a former Charlestown Town Council member who was excommunicated by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) in 2010.

All blue statewide and federal

All three of our members of Congress, Sen. Jack Reed, Rep. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, won by comfortable margins. 

Helena Foulkes (D) trounced Independent Ken Block to become Rhode Island's next Governor. Kim Ahern easily won the right to succeed term-limited Attorney General Peter Nerohna.

The race between incumbent Democratic Lieutenant Governor Sabrina Matos and Republican John Loughlin was supposed to be tight with some polls giving the edge to Loughlin. However, she wins easily by about 16 points to retain her seat. 

There. Problem solved