Speakman, 65, of Warren, a professor of political science at Roger Williams University, captured 40% of the vote for her comfortable win over independent William Hunt, who took 29%, Democrat-turned Independent Kenneth Marshall, with 23%, and Independent James McCanna, who received just 8%.
“I had a wonderful team,” said Speakman to a cheering crowd of about 50 at 195 Franklin in Bristol. “I’m proud to say that we went high and stuck to the issues no matter what the others did.”
The results are unofficial until the secretary of state’s office certifies the vote, a procedure that usually takes about 10 days. Among the issues Speakman emphasized were combating climate change in the Narragansett Bay waterfront district, improving education, and supporting legislation to codify the Roe vs. Wade abortion standard. She credited campaign manager Erich Haslehurst for engineering a strong canvassing, social media and grassroots campaign in the two communities. Speakman, a former president of the Barrington Town Council, has taught political science and American politics at RWU for more than two decades.
In a last minute attack on Speakman, anti-abortion advocates placed fliers on windshields in the parking lots of local Roman Catholic churches last Sunday. The fliers stated that Marshall was “pro-life” and that Speakman was an “abortionist.”
The unofficial vote totals showed Speakman with 789, Hunt with 573, Marshall with 468, and McCanna at 167. Speakman won every precinct.
House District 68 comprises parts of Bristol and Warren, with about 70 percent of voters from Bristol and 30 percent from Warren. Speakman easily won the primary last month, defeating former Bristol Town Council member Richard Ruggerio. Speakman garnered 733 votes to 263 for Ruggerio.
The unusual special election occurred yesterday because Democrat Laufton Ascencao the winner of the seat in the November, 2018 general election decided not to take the office after he was caught faking campaign help for a slate of local progressive candidates.
After he dropped out, the district continued to be represented by incumbent Rep. Kenneth Marshall, who was elected as a Democrat. Marshall didn’t run for reelection in 2018, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. But he changed his mind and ran for the seat as an independent candidate. He said he ran as an independent rather than as a Democrat because he wanted to appeal to a wider set of voters than what termed “self-proclaimed progressive Democrats.”
Marshall was a strong supporter of House Speaker Nick Mattiello, D-Cranston. Speakman allies with the so-called House Reform Caucus that did not back Mattiello’s reelection as Speaker in January.
