RI's Biggest Senate Races - 2016

Archambault Beats Barrows

Democrat Steve Archambault appears to have cruised to victory over Republican challenger Brent Barrows. Archambault unofficially won with all precincts reporting in District 22 with with 54.7 percent of the vote, with 42.3 percent for Barrows. 

Archambault is the Democratic incumbent who has previously also run for Attorney General. Barrows is a school committee member.

The race drew statewide attention earlier this year after Archambault sued state GOP chairman Brandon Bell for defamation over an ad run against him. Bell denied any role in the ad, saying it had been sponsored by the local town GOP. The ad claimed that Archambault had been hired by a town official for the purpose of suing town residents. 

Harold Metts Wins Easily

Democratic incumbent Harold Metts appears to have easily fended off a challenge from GOP challenger Russell Hryzan. With 90 percent of precincts reporting in Providence, Metts was ahead 86.6 percent to 12.9 percent for Hryzan. Metts, a retired Providence school principal, is a longtime member of the Rhode Island General Assembly. He served in the House from 1984 to 1988 and has been in the Senate since 2004.

This is Hryzan’s second unsuccessful run for Senate. In announcing his run over the summer, Hryzan expressed hope that in the absence of the master lever his second bid might fare better. Hryzan ran on a platform of improvement in local education, criminal justice reform, and providing for the basic transportation needs of city residents.

Metts attracted public attention during the race for his defense of legislative grants—a program that critics believe is a form of pork-barrel spending.

“As a senator who represents a working-class and poor district, with some parts that have upwards of 30 percent unemployment, I wish I could get more legislative grants. My community relies on me to get as much as I can to help alleviate the pain and suffering of poverty,” Metts wrote in a column for GoLocalProv.

Pagliarini headed to loss in district?

Republican John Pagliarini appears headed towards defeat in his re-election bid for the state Senate District 11, which encompasses Portsmouth and Bristol. Democratic challenger James Seveney is holding onto a majority of the vote -- with 91% of precincts reporting, Seveney has 51% of the vote to Pagliarini's 48.8%.

Seveney is currently serving as the vice president of the Portsmouth Town Council. 

The election has come down to a re-match between the two. Earlier this year, Pagliarini bested the Democrat in a special election. The seat had been vacated by Christopher Ottiano, who announced he was stepping down to take a position at the Neighborhood Health Plan.

The race is ranked among the top 15 General Assembly races to watch around the state by GoLocalProv. 

Paiva-Weed easily holds onto to her seat

It appears that state Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed will hold on to her seat. Paiva Weed garned 67.2% percent of the vote over her independent candidate Sav Rebecchi, who had 32.4% percent. 

Seveney ran as a reform candidate against an incumbent he described as a career politician who was out of touch. 

“My opponent is a career Statehouse politician who has been in office for 24 years. Half of that time has been part of the leadership cartel that managed to increase our state budget to $9 billion and placed an increasing burden on taxpayers during a time of great financial turmoil and uncertainty,” Seveney states on his website. 

The Lincoln race....

The two candidates hoping to replace retiring independent Senator Ed O’Neill are locked in a tight race as of press time. Republican contender Thomas Paolino had a slight edge with 51.1% percent of the vote to Democrat, Jina Petrarca-Karampetsos, has 48.6%percent of the vote. 

Paolino, entered the race after winning an uncontested primary. 

Paolino, 24, is a lifelong Lincoln resident. “This district has raised me. I followed politics for most of life,” he said in a candidate profile on the state GOP Web site. On the issues, Paolino stressed his strong support for gun rights. 

Petrarca-Karampetsos, battled three other opponents to claim the Democratic nomination. 

Petrarca-Karampetsos is an attorney who shares a practice with her brother, Peter Petrarca. She ran on a platform of reviving the state economy to make it a more desirable place for local graduates. “I fear, like many, that we are simply raising our children who will end up moving out of state when they are older. It is my vision that we must act to improve our present and future to make Rhode Island and our communities a more appealing place for our youth to stay,” she states on her campaign Web site. 

Earlier this year, GoLocalProv ranked the race as one of the top 15 General Assembly races to watch in this election. 

Kettle wins third term

State Senator Nicholas Kettle, the Republican incumbent, is keeping his seat with solid majorities in all four towns that he represents—Coventry, Foster, Scituate, and West Greenwich. Overall, with all precincts reporting, Kettle had 57.4% against 42.4% for his Democratic challenger, Margaux Morisseau. 

Kettle decided to run for a third term this year despite an initial campaign promise to limit himself to two terms. He had also called for a constitutional amendment to institute term limits for other members of the General Assembly. 

Kettle defended his decision in an interview with GoLocalProv in July. 

“I am a supporter of term limits, I treat every term like its my last term, I just feel that I have a little left in me to fight the good fight and work every day for the District of 21,” Kettle said. “If they don't want me, it is what it is.”

The election is the second time the two candidates have faced off. In 2014, Kettle beat Morisseau 54.9 percent to 35.6 percent.

Morisseau is the Director of Community Engagement for NeighborWorks in the Blackstone River Valley. In her campaign, she emphasized her record of public service and the values she learned from her mother. 

McCaffrey Wins in Landslide 

Cranston Democrat Michael McCaffrey is notching a landslide win over Republican challenger Ron Loparto. McCaffrey has 64.5 percent of the vote with 35.1 percent for Loparto. McCaffrey, a local attorney, is the powerful incumbent chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a Warwick native who has served in the General Assembly for over two decades. 

Loparto mounted his campaign on a platform of “cleaning house” at the General Assembly. 

“The biggest political issue of election 2016 is the need for the taxpayers and small business to establish a new government in Rhode Island that supports and works for them. This will be a successful and prosperous government. There has been no accountability or responsibility for the poor judgment and criminal-like behavior by incumbent leadership that has made us the worst state in America,” Loparto told GoLocalProv earlier this month.