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CD1 Primary special election winners – Gabe Amo (D) & Gerry Leonard (R)
With a Democratic field of 12 on the ballot, with one having withdrawn too late to be removed, Gabe Amo has taken approximately 33% of the vote, and was declared the victor by local television station, WPRI, Ch. 12 at 8:30pm, and by NBC10 almost simultaneously.
The big news of the night was not only Rhode Island’s election of the first black congressional candidate, but the fact that Amo entered the race relatively late with little local recognition, albeit significant national accomplishment. Additionally, he led a field that gave a solid message to candidates – and supporters – about what the Rhode Island voter is looking for – and what they do not want.
Amo led Aaron Regunberg (25% of vote), who had brought in big progressive support with a personal visit by Bernie Sanders and an endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). Next was Sandra Cano (14%) and then Sabina Matos (8%). Matos was at the beginning of the primary run the first to announce and the early expected winner, but her campaign was plagued with signature problems and several missteps. She blamed “3 to 4 weeks of negative publicity” and says she was a “victim of fraud”, as posted by NBC10’s Brian Crandall.
There were approximately 8,000 or so mail and early voting ballots to be added. Some may have been in the totals, below, listed by the RI Board of Elections.
For more information on the candidates who will face each other in the November 7th election.