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Journal Staff| The Providence Journal

Rhode Island primary election guide 2022

Everything you need to know about voting in Rhode Island's primary election on Sept. 13.

Waldy Diez, Wochit

Rhode Island is one of three states to hold its primaries today. These are the final three primaries before the mid-term elections in November.

The nation's eyes are on the Second Congressional District, whereRepublicans have hopes for an upset in the election for a House seat now held byU.S.Rep.Jim Langevin, who is retiring after 11 terms representing Democratic-leaning Rhode Island.

The other major race on the Democratic primary ballot is the governor's race, where Dan McKee is trying to be elected to his first full term. He is one of five candidates vie for the chance to go against the presumptive Republican nominee, Ashley Kalus in November's general election.

Rhode Island Primary Voter Guide: Everything you need know to about the candidates

Early Voters out in Barrington

Barrington High School polling station.

The Providence Journal

Around 2 p.m., Brett Smiley stopped by a polling place in Roger Williams Park. The mayoral hopeful described a feeling of energy and enthusiasm, noting that hes received support on the road in the form of car honks and waves from windows.

Smiley began his day with visits to several East Side polling sites. He grabbed breakfast at the Butcher Shop deli on Elmgrove Avenue with former Journal political writer Charlie Bakst and mentor Myrth York, a former state senator.

More: Why are they running? Providence mayoral candidates on the political and the personal

Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every city and town except New Shoreham, where poll hours are 9a.m. to 8 p.m.

The general election isNov. 8.

WARWICK -- A small but steady stream of voters were casting ballots at Norwood Elementary School in WarwickTuesday shortly before noon. A torrential rain had stopped, and the sun was peeking through the clouds.

Carol Buckley a Warwick resident, stood outside the school, carrying a sign for the state Senate candidate she supports DemocratHarrison Tuttle.

Speaking of the morning just ending, she said Its been slow but people canvassing are pretty cheerful, pretty engaged.

She added: Its nice to see people doing their civic duty in this questionable weather.

Eighteen-year-old Kingston DaLomba was doing his civic duty by voting for the first time. A graduate of Pilgrim High School, Dalomba, a musician and singer, is a student at the Community College of Rhode Island, which he is attending on the Rhode Island Promise program.

I feel like local politics is very dominated by the older generationand people my age don't pay attention to local elections and the stuff that really impacts us in ways that we can see firsthand, DaLomba said.

I feel like if I want to create change that I want to see around me, I should be voting in local elections. So I made sure I researched everything. I knew who I wanted to vote for and came out before going to classes.

In a sloppy, rain-soaked morning, Gov. Dan McKee and his wife Susan emerged frombeneath umbrellasto slip inside the gymnasium of Community School in Cumberland to vote,just after 10 a.m.

Afterward, McKee told a few assembled reporters he was feeling good, very goodastheelection day began.

We ran a very good campaign and did what I said we woulddo,which was to manage the state of Rhode Island and sign the[state]budget before I started the campaign and weve had momentumeversince.

Askedhow he would characterize the tone of thecampaign, which turned nasty in recent weekswithhisDemocratic opponents, Nellie Gorbea and Helena Foulkes,McKee said: the tone...Illjust leave that alone.

Instead, McKee thankedhis campaign staff who worked to get out his message ineverycorner of the state:So we have a very broad base of supportand as a result of that I think we are talking about what was really important: increasing peoples incomes in thestate,continue work to improve our schools and to improve the lives of families.

McKee said, There is a distinction between actually managing a state and campaigning for governor. They are two different animals.The workis whats important to me. Thats why Icampaignedfor governor because the work is important to me and I love the state and I want to make sure that we follow through with all the things weve already laid the groundwork for in the first 18 months in office.

ColleenDeGroot, the precinct moderator at Community School, wondered whether the days rain would impact voter turnout.

The precinct has 800 registered Democrats and 400 Republicans and with all the rainfrom that last storm, people might be skittishabout coming out, she said.

McKee was the 80thvoter to cast a ballot at Community School shortly after 10 a.m.

-Tom Mooney, Journal Staff writer

Candidate's supporters rally votes in RI during the primary election

Avi Shapiro withstood the rain Tuesday at the Aspray Boathouse in Warwick to for Harrison Tuttle, a progressive Democratic candidate.

Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal

WARWICK Voter turnout was light Tuesday morning at the Aspray Boathouse a reality longtime elections clerk Denise Hainey chalked up to steps taken during the pandemic to make voting more accessible in Rhode Island.

More Rhode Islanders opted to vote early or cast absentee ballots than in the past, Hainey said.

A total of 2,542 voters had cast ballots by 10:42 a.m.

It will never go back to the way it was before because people have options, Hainey said Tuesday as rain poured outside.

The mood inside the polling place was decidedly upbeat, with one volunteer breaking out singing My Girl by the Temptations. Ive got sunshine on a cloudy day, as perhaps some sliver of sunshine slipped through the rain.

Avi Shapiro braved the rainfall at the Aspray Boathouse to press votes for Harrison Tuttle, a progressive Democratic candidate for state Senate District 31.

Its about having an advocate from the community, Shapiro said. I think Harrison represents what people are looking for.

Shapiro called Tuttles opponent, former prosecutor Matthew LaMountain, a candidate handpicked by Senate PresidentDominick J. Ruggerio.

Dave Fontaine and Lou Ullucci, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2323, manned the polls in support of union-backed LaMountain and Joseph M. McNamara, for House District 19.

Were here supporting the candidates who support our issues, Fontaine said.

Stuart Wilson, second-time Democratic candidate vying for McNamaras seat, was joined by his father, Tom Thomson, in rallying for votes.

A father of two who took his two sons out on the campaign trail, Wilson hoped hed prevail in Tuesdays Primary.

I always knew it would take two cycles. Im tired of good ideas not getting enough support from the leaders, Wilson said.

Theyve let education flounder. We don't even have universal pre-K, said Wilson, whose five-year-old son, Henry, attends first-grade at Wyman Elementary School.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2323 representatives at the polls

Dave Fontaine and Lou Ullucci, of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2323, manned the polls Tuesday in support of union-backed Democratic candidates

Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal

Voters can look up their designated polling station and, as Election Day draws closer, view sample ballots by logging into the Voter Information Center:vote.sos.ri.gov

Yes. Voters need to present an ID, which can be a driver's license, passport, Rhode Island Voter ID Card or another form of identification listed here: vote.sos.ri.gov/Content/Pdfs/voter_id_information.pdf

More than 20,000 people had voted in Rhode Island as of Thursday night, about half by mail and half early in-person sites, according to the secretary of state's officehttps://ri-voter-turnout-tracker-ridos.hub.arcgis.com/

Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every city and town except New Shoreham, where poll hours are 9a.m. to 8 p.m.

You can view a sample ballot by entering your address in the secretary of state's Voter Information Center athttps://vote.sos.ri.gov/Home/PollingPlaces?ActiveFlag=2

A total of 712,945 active voters are eligible to cast ballots in Tuesdays statewide primaries, according to the secretary of state's voter information data.

Of those, nearly 4%, or 27,986, had already cast ballots as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, using either mail ballots or early in-person voting, according to the secretary's voter turnout tracker.

Democrats have contested primaries for four of the five statewide general officers governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and general treasurer and in Congressional District 2.

Republicans have primaries for governor and lieutenant governor.

There are also more than 40 Democratic primaries and four Republican primaries for general assembly seats, plus contests for local offices across the state.

Voters who are registered with a party are only allowed to vote in that party's primary, while unaffiliated voters can choose Democratic or Republican at the polls, but can only vote in one.

Polls open everywhere at 7 a.m., except on Block Island, where they open at 9 a.m. All polls close at 8 p.m.

While Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 200,000 voters 290,805 to 97,879 the largest voting bloc statewide by party affiliation is unaffiliated voters, often called independents. That group, numbering 324,261, makes up 45% of the electorate.

In just 10 communities do Democrats outnumber independents, including four where more than half the voters are Democrats: Providence at 62% the most Democratic community in the state; Central Falls; Pawtucket; and North Providence.

Republicans do not outnumber independents in any community, but the GOP is ahead of Democrats in three rural communities clustered on or near the Connecticut border in Western Rhode Island: Foster, Scituate and West Greenwich, a town in which there are 11 more Republicans than Democrats.

But those three communities have a fierce independent streak, with more than half of registered voters 53% to 55% not declaring allegiance to a party. Nearby Glocester is the most independent in the state, at 56%.

And those three towns combined have fewer Republicans, 4,127, than the town of Tiverton has Democrats, .4,171.

The community leading the early voting turnout as of noon Monday was Jamestown, where 9.4% of active voters had already cast ballots.

Rounding out the Top 5 were: Portsmouth, 6.9%; South Kingstown, 6.6%; East Providence, 5.7%; and Narragansett, 5.5%.

The early turnout in the state's four largest cities was: Providence, 4.8%; Cranston, 3.5%; Warwick, 4.0%; and Pawtucket, 2.6%.

The lowest early turnout in the state was Woonsocket, 1.3%.

Active voters are those who have votedrecently and are not marked for removal from the voter rolls if they don't vote soon. Inactive are still eligible to vote in Tuesday's primaries. Their numbers were not immediately available.

- Paul Edward Parker

The Rhode Island state primary isSept. 13. However, early voting is available.

Polls will open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in every city and town except New Shoreham, where poll hours are 9a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters can look up their designated polling station and, as Election Day draws closer, view sample ballots by logging into the Voter Information Center:https://vote.sos.ri.gov/

More: Rhode Island Primary Voting Guide: Everything you need to know to get your ballot

Here's a primer on the important statewide primary races and the candidates vying for your vote

Democrats face a crowded gubernatorial field going into the September 13th primary. Five candidates vie for the chance to go against the presumptive Republican nominee, Ashley Kalus in November's general election.

Luis DanielMuoz:From Central Falls to the governor's race, Luis Daniel Muoz is used to being the underdog

Matt Brown: In bid for governor, Democrat Matt Brown says voters are looking for something different

Nellie Gorbea: In her campaign for governor, Nellie Gorbea bills herself as the underestimated candidate

Helena Foulkes: How Helena Foulkes hopes to go from corporate CVS office, to RI Governor

Dan McKee:In his bid for reelection, Governor Dan McKee leans on accomplishments and allies

Ashley Kalus:'Outsider' Ashley Kalus launches GOP campaign for RI governor

If youre just tuning in, a quick recap: Back in February, Jim Langevin unexpectedly announced that he would not seek reelection. It briefly felt like every politician whod ever set foot in Rhode Islands 2nd Congressional District, which covers the western half of the state, was floating the idea of running for the open seat. The field as since narrowed to five candidates.

Until recently, Spencer Dickinson, a former lawmaker with conservative views, was also in the race. HisfriendJohn Carlevalesaid on Tuesday that Dickinson was experiencing serious health issues and was "suspending the active part of his campaign."

Whichever Democratcomes out ahead in the September 13th primary will likely square off against Republican candidate and former Cranston Mayor, Allan Fung.

Can RI Democrats hold 2nd District seat? Five contenders make their case to primary voters

Where Democrats in RI's 2nd District race stand:On housing, health care, Green New Deal

More: RI GOP trying to make sure Allan Fung faces no primary contest

Allan Fung's prescription for Congress?Make Washington more like Cranston

The lieutenant governor does not have many constitutional duties.

The lieutenant governor chairs four boards:the Long Term Care Coordinating Council, the Alzheimer's State Plan Executive Board, the Emergency Management Advisory Counciland the Small Business Advocacy Council.

The office's most important role came to the fore in March 2021, when Gov. Gina Raimondo resigned after being confirmed by the Senate as U.S. commerce secretary and McKee was sworn in to replace her.

Running for Lt. Governor are SabinaMatos and CynthiaMendes, running together with their gubernatorial counterparts, Gov. Dan McKee for Matos and Matt Brown for Mendes, while DeborahRuggiero is running alone.

They will face either Republicans,Aaron Guckian orPaul Pence in the general election

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2022 RI Primary Live: Voters are casting their ballots in Democrat and Republican races - The Providence Journal