Welcome back to my Friday column. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/iSzcTrG. *** 1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Seventeen years ago, during the Great Recession, URI economist Leonard Lardaro […]
Jessica de la Cruz
Posted inLocal, Politics, TGIF
TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Feb. 21, 2025
I was dreamin’ when I wrote this/Forgive me if it goes astray/woke up super-early for Lively/hence my acuity is on the wane today. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go. *** Want to get my column in your inbox every Friday? Just sign up right here. *** […]
Posted inLocal, Politics
RI state senator gives Trump an ‘A’ for first weeks in office
Interview highlights: On President Trump’s performance in his first weeks in office Jessica de la Cruz: I would say [he gets] an A. He campaigned on these promises and now he’s following through. I just feel that sometimes if I put my phone down for a couple of hours, I’ve missed what could be two […]
Posted inPolitics
R.I. GOP backs new effort to create an inspector general
State GOP leaders say the Democrats’ supermajority in the legislature has prevented the issue from moving forward.
Posted inEpisode, Political Roundtable, Politics
R.I. Senate GOP Leader Jessica de la Cruz on how RI Republicans can gain ground, whether Trump is holding them back, and the war in Israel
Jessica de la Cruz is one of the most high-profile Republicans in the state and she’s flirted with the idea of running for higher office. But the landscape for Republicans is pretty bleak here. The last Republican governor to win office was Don Carcieri in 2006. A GOP candidate has not won any of the four other state general offices since 1994. And Republicans hold just 14 of 113 seats in the General Assembly. What does de la Cruz make of all this? Is Donald Trump damaging efforts to build the GOP in places like Rhode Island? And does de la Cruz plan to seek higher office in the next state general election in 2026? This week, Ian Donnis goes in-depth with the Republican leader in the Rhode Island Senate, Jessica de la Cruz.
