2022 Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election

2022 Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election

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Nominee Sabina Matos Aaron Guckian Ross McCurdy Party Democratic Republican Independent Popular vote 180,909 152,458 19,507 Percentage 51.2% 43.1% 5.5%

County results Municipality results Congressional district results Precinct results Matos:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Guckian:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Lieutenant Governor before election Sabina Matos Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos Democratic

The 2022 Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the lieutenant governor of the state of Rhode Island. The election coincided with various other federal and state elections, including for Governor of Rhode Island. Primary elections were held on September 13. Rhode Island is one of 21 states that elects its lieutenant governor separately from its governor.

Incumbent Democratic lieutenant governor Sabina Matos was appointed to the seat in 2021 after the previous incumbent, Dan McKee, ascended to the governorship. ^[1] McKee was re-elected in 2018 with 61.9% of the vote. ^[2]

Matos won election to a full term, defeating her Republican opponent Aaron Guckian in the closest race for this office since 1998. ^[3] She became the first Dominican American to be elected to a lieutenant governor position in the United States. ^[4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Sabina Matos, incumbent lieutenant governor and former President of the Providence City Council ^{[5] [6]}

Eliminated in primary

• Cynthia Mendes, state senator ^[7]
• Deb Ruggiero, state representative ^{[8] [9]}

Disqualified

• Larry Valencia, former state representative ^[10]

Declined

• Aaron Regunberg, former state representative and candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018 ^[11]

Endorsements

Sabina Matos

Statewide officials

• Grace Diaz, state representative from the 11th district (2005–present) ^[12]
• Dan McKee, Governor of Rhode Island (2021–present) and former Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island (2015–2021) ^[12]

State legislators

• Maryellen Goodwin, state senator from the 1st district (2005–present) ^[12]
• Meghan Kallman, state senator from the 15th district (2021–present) ^[12]
• Ana Quezada, state senator from the 2nd district (2017–present) ^[12]
• Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, state representative from the 5th district (2017–present) ^[12]
• Leonidas Raptakis, state senator from the 33rd district (1997–2011, 2013–present) ^[12]
• Carlos Tobon, state representative from the 58th district (2015–present) ^[12]
• Anastasia Williams, state representative from the 9th district (1993–present) ^[12]

Local officials

• Roberto DaSilva, Mayor of East Providence (2019–present) ^[12]
• Don Grebien, Mayor of Pawtucket (2011–present) ^[12]
• Charles Lombardi, Mayor of North Providence (2007–present) ^[12]
• Jeanne Marie Napolitano, Mayor of Newport (2014–2018, 2020–present) ^[12]
• Angel Taveras, former Mayor of Providence (2011–2015) ^[12]

Organizations

• The Collective PAC ^[13]
• Everytown for Gun Safety ^[14]
• Rhode Island Democratic Party ^[15]
• Rhode Island Latino PAC ^[13]

Labor unions

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 251 ^[13]
• National Education Association Rhode Island ^[13]
• United Nurses and Allied Professionals ^[13]

Cynthia Mendes

U.S. Senators

• Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont (2007–present) and candidate for president of the United States in 2016 and 2020 (Independent) ^[16]

Organizations

• Sierra Club ^[13]

Deb Ruggiero

State legislators

• Joe Shekarchi, Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives (2021–present) from the 23rd district (2013–present) ^[17]

Debate

2022 Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Democratic primary debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Cynthia Mendes	Sabina Matos	Deb Ruggiero
1	Jul. 29, 2022	WPRI-TV	Ted Nesi Tim White	[18]	P	P	P
2	Sep. 7, 2022	WJAR	Gene Valicenti	YouTube	P	A	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Sabina Matos	Cynthia Mendes	Deb Ruggiero	Undecided
Change Research (D) [19] [A]	September 4–5, 2022	602 (LV)	± 4.1%	22%	14%	15%	41%
Fleming & Associates [20]	August 7–10, 2022	405 (LV)	± 4.9%	23%	9%	14%	51%
Expedition Strategies (D) [21] [B]	July 19–24, 2022	402 (LV)	± 4.9%	30%	10%	16%	44%
Fleming & Associates [22]	May 9–12, 2022	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	21%	12%	13%	53%

Results

Democratic primary results ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sabina Matos (incumbent)	50,704	47.11%
	Democratic	Deb Ruggiero	35,620	33.10%
	Democratic	Cynthia Mendes	21,304	19.79%
Total votes			107,628	100.0%

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Aaron Guckian, Chairman of the Warwick Sewer Authority and former aide to former Governor Donald Carcieri ^[24]

Eliminated in primary

• Paul Pence, food safety coordinator and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018 ^[25]

Withdrawn

• Jeann Lugo, police officer ^{[26] [27] [28]}

Endorsements

Aaron Guckian

Organizations

• Rhode Island Republican Party ^[29]

Results

Republican primary results ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Aaron Guckian	13,427	67.73%
	Republican	Paul Pence	6,396	32.27%
Total votes			19,823	100.0%

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Keith Harrison, veteran ^[30] (did not appear on the ballot)
• Ross McCurdy, candidate in 2018

General election

Endorsements

Sabina Matos (D)

Statewide officials

• Dan McKee, Governor of Rhode Island (2021–present) and former Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island (2015–2021) ^[12]

State legislators

• Grace Diaz, state representative from the 11th district (2005–present) ^[12]
• Maryellen Goodwin, state senator from the 1st district (2005–present) ^[12]
• Meghan Kallman, state senator from the 15th district (2021–present) ^[12]
• Ana Quezada, state senator from the 2nd district (2017–present) ^[12]
• Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, state representative from the 5th district (2017–present) ^[12]
• Leonidas Raptakis, state senator from the 33rd district (1997–2011, 2013–present) ^[12]
• Carlos Tobon, state representative from the 58th district (2015–present) ^[12]
• Anastasia Williams, state representative from the 9th district (1993–present) ^[12]

Local officials

• Roberto DaSilva, Mayor of East Providence (2019–present) ^[12]
• Don Grebien, Mayor of Pawtucket (2011–present) ^[12]
• Charles Lombardi, Mayor of North Providence (2007–present) ^[12]
• Jeanne Marie Napolitano, Mayor of Newport (2014–2018, 2020–present) ^[12]
• Angel Taveras, former Mayor of Providence (2011–2015) ^[12]

Organizations

• The Collective PAC ^[13]
• Everytown for Gun Safety ^[14]
• Rhode Island Democratic Party ^[15]
• Rhode Island Latino PAC ^[13]

Labor unions

• International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 251 ^[13]
• National Education Association Rhode Island ^[13]
• United Nurses and Allied Professionals ^[13]

Aaron Guckian (R)

Organizations

• Rhode Island Republican Party ^[29]

Forum

2022 Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor candidate forum

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican	Independent
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Sabina Matos	Aaron Guckian	Ross McCurdy
1 [31]		North Kingstown High School		YouTube	P	P	P

Results

2022 Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election ^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Sabina Matos (incumbent)	180,909	51.18%	–10.69%
	Republican	Aaron Guckian	152,458	43.13%	+14.04%
	Independent	Ross McCurdy	19,507	5.52%	+2.95%
	Write-in		608	0.17%	–0.52%
Total votes			353,482	100.0%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Matos won both congressional districts. ^[33]

District	Matos	Guckian	Representative
1st	56%	38%	David Cicilline
2nd	47.4%	46.9%	James Langevin (117th Congress)
			Seth Magaziner (118th Congress)

See also

• 2022 Rhode Island elections

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

1. Poll jointly sponsored by Democratic Promise Action Fund and Matt Brown and Mendes' campaign for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
2. This poll was sponsored by Matos's campaign

References

1. "Matos to be sworn in as lieutenant governor Wednesday morning". Archived from the original on November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
2. "Lieutenant Governor". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
3. Rozas Rivera, Adriana (November 9, 2022) [November 8, 2022]. "Matos wins 1st full term as RI lieutenant governor". WPRI-TV . Providence . Retrieved November 10, 2022.
4. Acevedo, Nicole (November 9, 2022). "These Latino firsts made history in the 2022 midterm elections". NBC News . Retrieved November 10, 2022.
5. "Two former mayors, likely foes in the General Treasurer race". December 13, 2021.
6. "Nesi's Notes: Feb. 26". February 26, 2022.
7. "Candidate says she'll sleep in tent outside State House until homeless crisis 'resolved'". The Providence Journal . Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
8. "Here's who's running for the big kid jobs in Rhode Island politics (So far) - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
9. "State Rep. Deb Ruggiero will run for RI lieutenant governor". April 4, 2022.
10. "Larry Valencia wants to be the 'last lieutenant governor' of RI". May 5, 2022.
11. "Regunberg appears to have second thoughts about second run for lieutenant governor - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
12. "Labor, Community, Faith and Elected Leaders Line Up to Support Sabina". Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
13. Fitzpatrick, Edward. "Rhode Island political news: August". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
14. "Mom's Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate". Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
15. Nesi, Ted (June 26, 2022). "McKee wins RI Dem Party endorsement" . Retrieved June 30, 2022.
16. "Senator Bernie Sanders endorses R.I. Progressives Segal, Brown, and Mendes - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
17. "Nesi's Notes: April 9". April 9, 2022.
18. YouTube
19. Change Research (D)
20. Fleming & Associates
21. Expedition Strategies (D)
22. Fleming & Associates
23. "2022 Statewide Primary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. September 22, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
24. Gregg, Katherine (June 20, 2022). "Aaron Guckian jumps into GOP race for RI lieutenant governor". The Providence Journal . Retrieved June 30, 2022.
25. Fitzpatrick, Edward (November 12, 2021). "Republican Paul Pence Jr. Is running for R.I. Lieutenant governor again - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe .
26. "Election 2022 Update: Magaziner wants to divest from Russia".
27. Lugo, Jeann [@JeannCLugo] (June 25, 2022). "I will not be running for any office this fall" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
28. Breuninger, Kevin. "Off-duty Rhode Island cop, ex-GOP state Senate candidate allegedly attacks political opponent at abortion rights rally after Supreme Court Roe ruling". CNBC.
29. Stevens, Matthew (June 29, 2022). "Kalus, Fung headline RIGOP endorsements". WLNE-TV . Retrieved June 30, 2022.
30. "Here's who's running for the big kid jobs in Rhode Island politics (so Far)". The Boston Globe . March 29, 2022.
31. Pezanko, Charles (November 3, 2022). "Candidates Day At North Kingstown High School". North Kingstown High School . Retrieved June 25, 2023.
32. "2022 General Election - Lieutenant Governor". Rhode Island Board of Elections. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
33. "RI 2022 Statewide Races by CD".

External links

Official campaign sites

• Jeann Lugo (R) for Lieutenant Governor Archived June 10, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
• Sabina Matos (D) for Lieutenant Governor
• Cynthia Mendes (D) for Lieutenant Governor
• Paul Pence (R) for Lieutenant Governor
• Deb Ruggiero (D) for Lieutenant Governor
• Larry Valencia (D) for Lieutenant Governor Archived March 29, 2016, at the Wayback Machine