Exeter Democrat Megan Cotter maintains strong lead in rematch with Republican Justin Price

Exeter Democratic Rep. Megan Cotter waves to passing cars outside the Exeter Chapel on Election Day. (Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current)

Rhode Island's House District 39 rematch between Democrat Megan Cotter and Republican Justin Price was not the nail-biter many expected.

Cotter, a first-term Democrat, maintained a solid 7.7% lead over Price — equal to 659 votes — as of midnight, according to preliminary, unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections.

Cotter's margin of apparent victory contrasts with the 2022 election, when Cotter ousted Price from his seat spanning Richmond, Exeter and a slice of Hopkinton by 32 votes.

"I feel good we put in the work," said Cotter, who celebrated Tuesday alongside Exeter and Richmond Democrats at Frankie's Restaurant & Pizzeria in North Kingstown. "We worked so, so hard."

Cotter has spent at least five days a week since late June knocking doors across her district, drawing support and donations from top state and federal Democrats.

Yet the 40-year-old mother of three and district sales manager for Foley Fish in New Bedford, Massachusetts, distanced herself from the national party platform, maintaining a focus on local issues to appeal to voters in the conservative-leaning district: school funding, health care access and forest management and conservation, to name a few.

"I had one guy at a polling location today say I am the only Democrat he's voting for," Cotter said Tuesday night. "My whole family was cheering."

Cotter's 18-year-old daughter, Emily, a first-time voter, joined her mom to cast her ballot Tuesday morning at Exeter Chapel.

Price did not return calls for comment Tuesday. Cotter also said she had not heard from her opponent.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran who later worked as a fisherman and carpenter, Price attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., though he says he did not enter the building. Price has kept a low profile in his comeback campaign, not responding to media interview requests and raising only a small sum from a limited donor pool.

Republican wins House 42 seat

Another buzzworthy matchup for House District 42, straddling Johnston and Cranston, also did not look like a close contest afterall. Republican Richard Fascia appeared to defeat Democrat Kelsey Coletta by nearly 10-percentage points as of midnight, according to preliminary, unofficial results.

Fascia joined fellow Republicans at The Event Factory Kitchen and Stage in Warwick. Despite Rhode Island's solid backing of Kamala Harris and Democratic congressional incumbents, Fascia said the mood was upbeat.

"I, of course, am very excited," Fascia, 67, a retired Providence police officer, said in an interview Tuesday night. "This is the first step in the next two years of my life."

The House District 42 race featured drama over a state police union endorsement given, then rescinded, to Coletta. The union later explained it wanted to remain neutral because its policies prevent endorsements against law enforcement officials.

Fascia's campaign, however, linked the rescinded endorsement to Coletta's support for safe injection sites. Former seatholder, and fellow Democrat, Ed Cardillo Jr. also denounced Coletta as a "radical." Coletta beat Cardillo by 29 votes in a three-way Democratic primary that also featured Cardillo's nephew.

Ben Branchaud, Coletta's campaign manager, said in a text Tuesday night that Coletta conceded. Coletta was not immediately available to comment. The 34-year-old social worker was backed by the Rhode Island Working Families Party but also drew support from more moderate Democrats statewide, including House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.

Just 27 of the state's 113 legislative seats — less than 24% — were contested in the general election, including eight open seats in which incumbent lawmakers did not run for reelection.

The wave of outgoing legislators did little to change the partisan makeup of either chamber, which remained solidly under Democratic control.

Open seats feature few surprises

Republicans held on to a few seats in more conservative-leaning districts, including Cranston's House District 15, which was left open after former Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung entered the Cranston mayoral race. Republican City Councilman Chris Paplauskas narrowly beat Democrat Maria Bucci.

And in House District 53, where freshman Republican Rep. Brian Rea opted not to seek reelection, Republican Paul Santucci claimed the open seat for Smithfield and Glocester. Santucci soundly defeated former seatholder and Democratic Rep. Bernie Hawkins. Hawkins lost his reelection bid against Rea by 58 votes in 2022.

Rhode Island Republicans also added Warwick's House District 21 to their list of wins, with Republican Marie Hopkins besting James McElroy in the seat formerly held by Democratic Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson. Vella-Wilkinson opted not to run for reelection this year.

Yet the state GOP was not so fortunate in the House District 26 race, long held by Republican Rep. Patricia Morgan, who instead opted to challenge U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. Democrat Earl Read flipped the seat representing West Warwick, Coventry and a piece of Warwick in a three-way race against Republican Jeffrey Fisher and independent candidate Vincent Marzullo.

Another Democratic win came in Johnston's Senate District 25, where Democrat Andrew Dimitri defeated Republican Karin Gorman for the open seat formerly held by Democratic Sen. Frank Lombardo III. Lombardo died in February of bladder cancer.

In neighboring Senate District 26, Cranston Democrat Todd Patalano beat Republican Jennifer Caputi, filling the seat vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Frank Lombardi.

Incumbent advantage reigns

Among the 19 legislative matchups featuring sitting lawmakers, incumbents appeared to prevail.

One potential exception: Warwick's Senate District 29, where Democratic challenger Peter Appollonio took a slight lead over Republican Sen. Anthony DeLuca. As of midnight, Appollonio had a 23-vote lead over DeLuca.

Appollonio and DeLuca both declined to comment when reached by phone just after midnight Wednesday.

Democratic Sen. Leonidas Raptakis handily defeated Republican challenger James Pierson in Senate District 33, despite Pierson's pointed and personal attacks against the incumbent senator representing Coventry and West Greenwich.

Another longtime Democratic legislator, Rep. Deb Fellela, staved off a challenge by Republican Nichola Grasso for Johnston's House District 43 for the second time. The pair also faced off in 2022.

Senate Democrat Victoria Gu also bested Republican challenger Westin Place in a rematch of the 2022 competition for the Senate District 38 seat representing Westerly and parts of Charlestown. Gu, a freshman lawmaker, beat Place by a decisive 19-percentage points two years ago, flipping a seat that had previously been held by Republican Dennis Algiere for 20 years.

Across the state in Bristol and Warren's District 68, an anti-housing campaign led by independent challenger John Hanley wasn't enough to unseat Democratic Rep. June Speakman. Speakman, a vocal affordable housing advocate and head of a legislative study panel on the same topic, won her fourth term.

The state elections board will continue tabulating results from mail ballots collected at state drop boxes, along with those received from military and overseas voters, in the coming days, with tentative plans to certify results on Nov. 12. That is also the deadline by which state and local candidates can submit recount requests.