A son of West African immigrants to Rhode Island, Gabe Amo completed his ascent as a rising star among Rhode Island’s Democratic politicians, enjoying a lopsided victory over GOP rival Gerry Leonard on Tuesday to win the 1st Congressional District seat left vacant by the departure of David Cicilline.
The Associated Press called the race for Amo, the first person of color to win a congressional seat from Rhode Island, about 10 minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m.
Unofficial results show the Pawtucket native and former White House staffer with 64.6% of the vote, compared with 35.1% for Leonard, a Jamestown resident who served 30 years with the Marines.
“Happy Tuesday, everybody,” Amo said to the cheers of a crowd of supporters as he climbed onstage at The Barn, a venue at The Guild, a brewpub in Pawtucket. “I am honored for the first time to say that I am your congressman-elect.”
Amo, a moderate pro-business Democrat, emerged as the consensus choice of CD1 voters in a crowded primary field in September. He is expected to be sworn in some time next week.
He thanked volunteers, elected officials and his campaign team for “so much connection to people — a politics that is proximate — and I am so thankful for them.” Voting with his mom was a high point, Amo said. He called his victory the start of a partnership with his constituents.
Gov. Dan McKee and all four other state general officers took part in the victory celebration. Some of the other politicos making the scene included East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva, Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien, Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera, state Democratic Chairman Joe McNamara and his expected successor, Liz Beretta-Perik, and staffers or supporters from Gina Raimondo’s time as governor, including David Ortiz, Cara Cromwell and Jon Duffy.
U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, who last year won the race to succeed former Rep. Jim Langevin, said in a statement, “Congratulations to Gabe Amo on his hard-fought victory. I look forward to working with Gabe in the House of Representatives to deliver for Rhode Islanders, and have no doubt he will hit the ground running.”
Some of Amo’s primary rivals were in the crowd cheering him on, including Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, Providence City Councilor John Goncalves, and state Sen. Sandra Cano.
Amo said he wants to make believers out of voters who think the government doesn’t work.
“The journey of so many Rhode Islanders and their families is one of grit, determination, hard work and resilience, and I stand on the shoulders of so many who came before me to make this day possible,” he said. “As people in public service we have an obligation — an obligation to make sure that journey is met by an understanding of our great responsibility.”
“Our shared obligation,” Amo continued, “is to work for you, to ensure that our country, our state, continues to be a place where everyone has a shot at having the freedoms that they deserve — a freedom to security in their retirement, a freedom from gun violence, a freedom to make the most difficult healthcare decisions without a legislator in the room, a freedom to grow up in a habitable planet, a freedom to live a life that is full of opportunity.”
A graduate of Wheaton College, Amo’s appetite for politics grew while working on Sheldon Whitehouse’s 2006 campaign for U.S. Senate. He later worked in the White House during the Obama administration, then for former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, and then in the White House for President Biden.
These kinds of connections, as well as his historic victory, could help Amo to amplify his profile as the most junior member of Congress.
Considering the heavily Democratic makeup of CD1, Amo’s win seemed likely, and national Republicans didn’t funnel any meaningful financial support to Leonard.
The first-time GOP candidate staged his campaign event at the Narragansett Cafe in Jamestown, where locals in hoodies, sweatshirts and ball caps sat alongside Leonard supporters dressed to nines. But the noisy scene dropped to a hush when a news report on TV showed Amo to be the winner shortly after 8 p.m.
“I’m just not done … I love this state. I love the people in this state. And I absolutely believe the state needs to be in a better place than it is today,” Leonard said in an interview after his concession speech. “But we’ll, I will work with whomever it may be. I don’t care where you came from, what your political affiliation is, what your sex is, what your color is. None of that really matters. At the end of the day, and it’s a thing I learned in the Marine Corps, let’s just get the mission done. And our mission right now is, is to change Rhode Island, to get Rhode Island so it’s not at the bottom of the barrel in every single quality-of-life metric. That’s what needs to change.”
The Republican candidate’s share of the vote was nearly identical to the amount GOP candidate Allen Waters got against Cicilline in 2022.
Cicilline surprised Rhode Island’s political scene and set off a scramble of campaigns to succeed hm when he announced in February he would be stepping down after 12 years in Congress to become president/CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@thepublicsradio.org. Newport Bureau Reporter Cheryl Hatch contributed to this report, and can be reached at chatch@thepublicsradio.org.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story attributed the quote from Gerry Leonard to his concession speech. It was from an interview after his speech. The story’s been updated to reflect that.
