Rhode Island's Democratic governor fends
off challenge from left
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[September 13, 2018]
By David Gaffen
(Reuters) - Rhode Island Democratic
Governor Gina Raimondo turned back a challenge from her party's
left-wing flank in the state's nominating contests on Wednesday,
advancing her bid to win a second term in office in November's general
election.
Raimondo, 47, a former venture capitalist, had about 56 percent of the
vote with most precincts counted in the heavily Democratic state. Her
main opponent, Matt Brown, an anti-nuclear activist and former state
secretary of state, polled about 34 percent.
Rhode Island tends to favor Democrats at the state and federal levels,
but Raimondo's approval levels are below 50 percent, according to public
polling.
Raimondo, the first woman to serve as Rhode Island governor, will face
Republican nominee Allan Fung, the mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, whom
she defeated in a three-way race in 2014, and Joseph Trillo, a former
Republican state legislator running as an independent.
Polling suggests the general election could be close. Election
prediction firms rate it as either "likely" or "leans" Democratic.
Leftist Democrats have been gaining momentum in nominating contests for
the Nov. 6 elections in which the party is seeking to regain control of
the U.S. Congress and bolster its representation in state governments
across the country, where Republicans control a majority of
governorships and legislatures.
Several challenges to centrist Democratic governors have fallen short,
but voters have chosen candidates who ran from the left in Democratic
gubernatorial nominating contests in Georgia and Florida.
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Democratic candidate for Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo speaks
at a campaign rally with United States first lady Michelle Obama in
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Brian
Snyder/File Photo
Among Democratic congressional candidates who have pulled off upsets
are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, who both defeated
longtime incumbents in primaries in New York and Massachusetts and
have promised to target Republican President Donald Trump's
policies.
Raimondo campaigned on her fiscal management efforts as state
treasurer to win the governorship in 2014, but some of the measures
have since stirred a backlash.
Brown criticized Raimondo's decision to overhaul the state's
underfunded pension plans when she was treasurer in 2011, cutting
pension payments to save billions, which angered some retirees.
Rhode Island's contests on Wednesday were the second-to-last before
November, with New York remaining on Thursday. In New York's
Democratic state primary on Thursday, activist and former "Sex and
the City" co-star Cynthia Nixon is challenging Governor Andrew
Cuomo.
(Reporting by David Gaffen in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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