In the marquee race of Rhode Island’s 2024 primary, Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins is facing a GOP challenge from state Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung.
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat first elected in 2006, is opposed by Michael Costa, who argues it’s time for a change.
Polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The winner of the Cranston race will face Robert Ferri, a Republican-turned-Democrat, in November.
Fenton-Fung and her husband, longtime former mayor Allan Fung, supported Hopkins when he ran in 2020, although relations later soured.
During the campaign, Hopkins argued he had been a good steward of Cranston, while Fenton-Fung asserted that things had changed for the worse.
Races for mayor are also taking place in Pawtucket and Woonsocket.
Voters are deciding 18 Democratic primaries for the General Assembly:
Senate District 4 – Lenny Cioe makes his third attempt to oust Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D-North Providence), who remains the favorite despite missing parts of last session due to various health issues.
Senate District 14 — Senate Whip Valarie Lawson (D-East Providence) is being challenged by former state Rep. Brian Coogan.
Senate District 17 — Democrats Cameron Deutsch and Alexander E. Azar are competing for the seat held by Sen. Thomas Paolino (R-Lincoln).
Senate District 20 – Three candidates, Denis Joseph Collins, Marian Juskuv and Brian J. Thompson, are vying for the seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Roger Picard (D-Woonsocket).
Senate District 25 – The vacancy created by the death this year of Sen. Frank Lombardo (D-Johnston) has sparked a three-way battle between Richard J. Delfino III, Andrew R. Dimitri, and Pamela Leary. Leary has the endorsement of the RI Building and Construction Trades Council.
Senate District 28 – Five Democrats are competing for the Providence/Cranston seat being vacated by longtime Sen. Josh Miller, and most of them have a chance of winning. Darrèll A. Brown of the Conservation Law Foundation’s RI office has the endorsement of U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse; Melissa Carden has a lot of signs in the district and can count on support from gun-safety backers due to her work with the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence; Cranston City Council VP Lammis Vargas touts a series of labor endorsements, including the RI Laborers District Council and Teamsters, Local 251; Bernice Morris, as the senior director of Crossroads RI, emphasizes housing; and John F. Croke Jr., a veteran and systems analyst at Providence College, is also in the hunt.
Senate District 29 — Jennifer Rourke is making her third Senate run for the seat now held by Sen. Anthony P. DeLuca II (R-Warwick), who won election in 2022 with Democratic support. Peter A. Appollonio Jr. is also running in the Democratic primary.
Senate District 37 — Anita Norton Jabobson is challenging longtime Sen. Sue Sosnowski (D-South Kingstown).
House District 9 – No legislative race has faced more charges and counter-charges this year than the tilt between Rep. Enrique Sanchez (D-Providence), one of the most left members of the legislature, his predecessor, Anastacia (formerly Anastasia) Williams, and Javier Santos.
House District 11 – Rep. Grace Diaz (D-Providence), who first won election in 2004, fueled by a story about coming to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic with $40, two dresses and no understanding of English, faces a challenge from Tania M. Quezada.
House District 14 – A rematch between Rep. Charlene Lima (D-Cranston), one of the longest-serving members of the House and progressive challenger Giona Picheco. While Lima has been a durable vote-getter, an X factor to watch is the extent to which conservative independents choose to vote in Cranston’s GOP mayoral primary.
House District 16 – Rep. Brandon Potter (D-Cranston), who was bounced from the RI Political Cooperative for supporting Joe Shekarchi during a 2020 caucus, faces a challenge from Joseph R. Graziano, seemingly because of Senate leadership’s pique about Potter’s commentary on an e-gambling bill.
House District 37 – Rep. Samuel Azzinaro (D-Westerly), faces a progressive challenge from Jonathan Daly-LaBelle. While Daly-LaBelle hopes to capitalize on the more liberal pool of primary voters, Azzinaro — despite some views that contrast with Democrats’ orthodoxy — is well-liked, respected for his work on veterans’ issues and considered by fans as Mr. Westerly.
House District 42 – All in the Family, RI-style. In a rematch, Rep. Edward T. Cardillo Jr. faces a tough fight with his nephew, Dennis D. Cardillo Jr., and Kelsey Coletta, the daughter of House Floor Manager Jay Edwards (D-Tiverton). Coletta is being backed by labor and has a solid shot of winning, but a tougher battle with a GOP candidate looms in November.
House District 51 – The musical chairs primary. Rep. Robert Phillips (D-Woonsocket) announced for mayor and then reversed course when it appeared that staying in the House was a better choice. Garrett S. Mancieri, a councilor in Woonsocket, had announced for the House seat by then and declined to back out.
House District 57 — Freshman Rep. Brandon Voas (D-Cumberland) faces a challenge from Phoenix Witt.
House District 58 – Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien is pushing hard for Elizabeth Moreira, who is challenging Rep. Cherie Cruz (D-Pawtucket), a well-liked progressive.
House District 64 – Jenni Azanero Furtado and Ashley L. Pereira compete for the seat being vacated by Rep. Brianna Henries (D-East Providence).
