In a historic win, Gabe Amo – the son of African immigrants who translated his early interest in politics to jobs in the Obama and Biden administrations – scored a decisive victory Tuesday over 10 Democratic primary rivals, becoming the first Rhode Islander of color to win such a contest.
In his victory speech at The Guild, a former mill building turned beer hall in Pawtucket, Amo said he stood on the shoulders of giants, “so many who paved the road before me, Black, brown, women – so many people who have had the opportunity to pave a pathway so I could stand here today.”
Amo vowed to support abortion rights for women, efforts to strengthen Social Security, and attempts to reduce gun violence.
Unofficial results showed Amo winning the 1st District primary with 32% of the vote, compared with 25% for former state Rep. Aaron Regunberg, the perceived frontrunner in the closing weeks of the campaign.
Among other top contenders, State Sen. Sandra Cano of Pawtucket got 14% of the vote, Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos – a one-time front runner who was dogged by headlines about a signature-gathering controversy involving her campaign – got just over 8% of the vote, and Rep. Stephen Casey of Woonsocket landed a bit over 6%.
Rhode Islanders have never elected a Democratic woman to serve in Congress. The primary win by Amo, who is Black, marks the breaking of a different barrier in local politics.
“Not a lot of kids that come from Pawtucket end up doing that.”
Many of the volunteers who showed up for the election watch party said that they had known Amo since he was young. Jorge Tobon used to ride the bus with Amo to school. They were both students from Pawtucket on scholarships to Moses Brown.
“To me he was just the older kid I used to shoot the breeze with on the way to school,” Tobon said. “So it’s just, it’s surreal for me. I’m ecstatic. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
As the results rolled in, Gabe Amo’s brother, Ace Weah, and their mother, Weady Socree, stood outside The Barn, a beer hall at The Guild Brewing Company where Amo’s election night party was being held.
Weah got a text. WPRI had called the election for Amo. He turned to his mom and held her.
“Your son is a congressman,” he told her, over and over.
“Amen, Jesus,” she replied, over and over.
Socree said she was proud – but not surprised – about her son’s win, saying he’s always been a hard worker. “My family would come visit and they will say, ‘Where is Gabriel?’ I say, ‘He is in his room studying.’”
Amo’s brother, Weah, said Amo had come a long way from their Pawtucket upbringing.
“I am proud of him. Working with Joe Biden, Working with Obama, Gina Raimondo, not a lot of kids that come from Pawtucket end up doing that,” Weah said. “He didn’t get in trouble. He made a lot of right choices that got him where he’s at today.”
A Pawtucket native who campaigned on his experience and his personal story
Amo’s victory is notable given how, despite being familiar to local political staffers and reporters, he was not well known by rank and file voters before announcing his campaign in April.
Regunberg campaigned as the most progressive candidate in the race, winning endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Regunberg beat Amo by more than 300 votes in Providence, but lost to him by hundreds of votes each in Barrington, Cumberland, East Providence and Newport, and by lesser margins elsewhere.
In a victory for the vestiges of former Gov. Gina Raimondo’s pro-business Democratic approach, voters preferred Amo, who campaigned on his experience and his personal story in rising from Pawtucket to the White House. His resume before the White House included working on Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s 2006 campaign and as an aide for Raimondo when she was governor.
To some observers, Regunberg – who came under sustained rhetorical attack from rivals in the closing weeks of the campaign – alienated voters by running too far to the left. He emphasized such issues as standing against corporate power and taking stronger action against climate change.
Some progressives said Regunberg was too ambitious and that he shouldn’t stand in the way of female candidates. He said he was living his values and had a record to show for it.
Asked if his defeat was a blow against progressivism, Regunberg said, “I don’t think so. I think that there was a lot of excitement around the issues that we talked about. I think Gabe ran a great campaign and I congratulate him and I’m glad for him.”
One Regunberg supporter, Naoko Shibusawa of Cranston, acknowledged that multiple factors explained the outcome. But she expressed frustration, based on her experience canvassing for votes, that mostly white voters emphasized race and gender in assessing candidates.
“We find that people of color don’t say that,” Shibusawa said. “The people of color are not as interested in what the skin color of the person is, they care more about the issue – who is going to be truer to the issues.”
“This is all that I’ve ever prayed and hoped for.”
Rhode Island politicos turned up to congratulate Amo. It had only been about 25 minutes since his win, but former Providence City Councilor Nirva LaFortune had already cried three times.
“Sending the first Black person from the state of Rhode Island to Congress is a dream,” she said. “As a mom, as an immigrant myself, as the daughter of immigrants, as a mother of Black children, this is all that I’ve ever prayed and hoped for, to be able to see someone who looked like my children to represent us.”
U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner also stopped by to congratulate Amo.
In a statement, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the campaign arm of House Democrats, pointed to Amo as a rising star.
“With Gabe on the ticket, Republican extremists don’t stand a chance at flipping this seat in November, and I look forward to working alongside him on behalf of Rhode Islanders and the American people,” DCCC Chair Suzane DelBene said.
Amo is the favorite in the November general election
The outcome marked a loss for the teachers’ unions that backed Cano, and the labor unions that backed Matos, whose political standing is weaker heading into the next statewide election in 2026.
Among laggards in the Democratic primary, former Naval War College professor Walter Berbrick got 3.6% of the vote, Sen. Ana Quezada got 3.4%, Providence City Councilor John Goncalves got 2.8%, Don Carlson – who dropped out after a WPRI report indicated he broached a romantic relationship with a college student at Williams College – got 1.8%, former Republican Allen Waters got 1.3%, Stephanie Beauté got 1.1%, and former Rep. Spencer Dickinson – who campaigned almost exclusively against a 2011 pension overhaul spearheaded when Raimondo was state treasurer – got 0.9%
Given a strong Democratic lean in CD1, Amo is the favorite in a November matchup against the winner of the GOP primary, Gerry Leonard, who served for more than 30 years in the Marine Corps. Unofficial results showed Leonard besting former Middletown Town Councilor Terri Flynn with almost 76% of the vote.
The CD1 seat is open since former Rep. David Cicilline resigned earlier this year after 12 years in Congress to take the job as president/CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.
In 2018 Regunberg lost a close primary for lieutenant governor to Dan McKee, now governor of Rhode Island. He said he plans to take a job advocating against climate change for the nonprofit group Public Citizen.
Political Reporter Ian Donnis reported from Providence. He can be reached at idonnis@thepublicsradio.org. Metro Desk Reporter Olivia Ebertz reported from Pawtucket. She can be reached at olivia@thepublicsradio.org.
Editor’s note: a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Nirva LaFortune was a former state representative. It has been updated to reflect that she is a former Providence City Councilor.
