RI-Gov: Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo has had some high-profile stumbles from the first half of her governorship, and plenty of Republicans, as well as a few Democrats, are considering challenging her in 2018. Former Rhode Island State Police head Brendan Doherty, who currently serves as director of special investigations for Blue Cross & Blue Shield, recently didn’t rule out a primary bid against Raimondo, only saying it was “[w]ay too early." Doherty ran for Congress as a Republican in 2012 against Democratic Rep. David Cicilline and lost the hard-fought race 53-41. Doherty considered a 2014 gubernatorial bid a few weeks after his defeat but didn’t go for it, and he’s rejoined the Democratic Party since then.
Clay Pell, the grandson of the late Sen. Claiborne Pell, ran for governor in 2014, and lost the primary to Raimondo 42-27, and he recently didn’t rule out a second try. But ex-Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, who took 29 percent in that race, made it clear to the Providence Journal that he wasn’t interested in a rematch.
Raimondo ended up defeating Cranston Mayor Allan Fung 41-36 in the general election. Fung, a Republican, was re-elected mayor in November even as he refused to rule out another gubernatorial bid. In December, Fung acknowledged that people were urging him to run again, adding that, “All I'll say for now is that I'm proud of all the great things happening in Cranston and my immediate focus is on the job of mayor.” That’s one of those obnoxious statements politicians love to make when they’re very interested in running for higher office but don’t want to actually say so yet.
A number of other Ocean State Republicans are considering getting in. Businessman Ken Block (who lost the 2014 GOP primary to Fung 55-45), businessman Giovanni Feroce, and ex-state Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders made their interest known a few weeks ago, and the Journal gives us some new names. Outgoing state Rep. Joseph Trillo, who headed Donald Trump’s state campaign, says he’s thinking about a bid, while state House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan didn’t rule it out. State Rep. Robert Nardolillo also says he’s “seriously” considering running for higher office, though he also is mulling challenging Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in what would be an extremely tough race for any Republican.
Karl Wadensten, who is the CEO of an industrial vibrator company, also says he’s giving a gubernatorial campaign “deep thought and consideration.” If he runs, Wadensten does have one strong selling point. In 2010, Wadensten was the one member of the Economic Development Corporation who voted against giving 38 Studios, a video game company started by retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a taxpayer-funded $75 million loan. 38 Studios quickly collapsed and it remains a sour issue in Rhode Island politics years later. (Meanwhile, Schilling is running for the Senate in Massachusetts against Sen. Elizabeth Warren.)