Amo Wins RI Congressional Election for 1st District

Amo Wins RI Congressional Election for 1st District

Democrat Gabe Amo has won the special election for the first congressional district in Rhode Island. 

A Pawtucket native and graduate of Moses Brown, Amo touted his experience working for former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, and in the White House administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. 

The theme of Amo's campaign was, "I am running for Congress because I still maintain a strong sense of optimism that if we come together, each of us can have a tomorrow that is better than today."

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He is the first minority to represent Rhode Island in Congress.

He defeated Republican Gerry Leonard — who ran on a platform focused on the economy. 

Leonard, who said that “Bidenomics” policies were not working for Rhode Islanders, called for a “national fiscal responsibility commission;” he refused, however, to say whether or not he would support former President Donald Trump in his 2024 reelection bid. 

Amo won a highly contested Democratic primary in September -- a race with a dozen Democratic candidates. Amo won 32% of the primary vote.

Now, he will need to turn on the fundraising efforts as Amo faces reelection in just one year.

In February, former Cicilline announced that he was stepping down from his seat in Congress to take over the position as the head of the Rhode Island Foundation and collect a salary of $650,000 for the group dedicated to supporting those in need. Cicilline officially resigned his office on June 1.