Already a Non-Factor: Rhode Island’s Legislative GOP Shrinks to 10 of 113 Seats—and Smith Hill Gets Even Less Scrutiny

What happened

These results are unofficial. The Board of Elections has not certified them. Rhode Island Current (updated Nov. 5 to correct the House GOP count) reports that Tuesday’s general election left just 10 Republicans in the 113-member General Assembly, down from 14—two GOP members in the 38-person Senate and eight of 75 in the House. The Boston Globe confirms the same seat math: Republicans lost two of the four Senate seats they held and two of the ten House seats they held.

The Senate caucus lost 10-year incumbent Sen. Thomas Paolino (Lincoln) to Democrat Nelly Burdette in a four-way race, and 12-year incumbent Sen. Elaine Morgan (Hopkinton) to Democrat Samantha Wilcox in Senate District 34, Rhode Island Current reports. In the House, freshman Republican Rep. Richard Fascia of Johnston lost to Democrat Edward Stravato.

Do not confuse a handful of flips with a reset. Excluding open seats, Rhode Island Current reports that 95% of state lawmakers who won Tuesday are incumbents, with reelection “all but guaranteed for most due to the absence of serious opponents—or any at all.”

Providence College associate professor of political science Adam Myers put the minority’s standing bluntly: “There’s no sea change in Rhode Island state government based on these results,” he told Rhode Island Current. “Republicans were already a non-factor. Essentially, now, they’re going to be even less of a factor.”

Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz (R–North Smithfield) warned that thinner opposition is the opposite of what taxpayers need. “Rhode Islanders are already struggling with some of the highest electricity costs in the country, an increasingly unaffordable cost of living, and a state government that continues to spend more while delivering too little,” she said in a statement quoted by Rhode Island Current. “The last thing taxpayers need is even less scrutiny of the decisions being made on Smith Hill.” The Boston Globe quotes her adding that fewer Republican voices “emboldens the more progressive agenda that Democrats have instead of finding common ground.”

House Minority Leader Mike Chippendale (R–Foster), also quoted by Rhode Island Current, said he is “still waiting to hear what the Democrats…intend to do about the electric bill, the shortage of primary care doctors or the cost of buying a home in this state.”

The League of RI Businesses, whose endorsed slate went 0-for-9 in the September primary, notched one general-election win: League-backed Republican Michael Riley defeated Democrat Shaina Smith in the open House District 42 seat (Scituate and part of Cranston), succeeding retiring Rep. Robert Quattrocchi, Rhode Island Current reports. League co-founder Dave Levesque said he was disappointed but not surprised, citing the need for better vetting and a stronger ground game—and asking what bills a still-friendlier Democratic Assembly will pass that make Rhode Island “not as business-friendly as it needs to be.”