Recounts confirm winners in three close state legislative races

Left to right, after recounts, Democrat Peter Appollonio Jr., has unseated the Republican incumbent in Warwick's Senate District 29 race; Republican Marie Hopkins wins Warwick's House District 21 seat; and Republican Chris Paplauskas wins Cranston's House District 15 seat. (Contributed photos)

Leading candidates prevailed in all three state legislative races recounted by the state elections board.

The final tallies, finished by the Rhode Island Board of Elections Thursday, cement the makeup of the 113-member Rhode Island General Assembly: 98 Democrats (64 representatives and 34 senators), 14 Republicans (10 representatives and four senators), and one independent representative.

The biggest upset was in Warwick's Senate District 29, where Democratic candidate Peter Appollonio Jr. ousted Republican Sen. Anthony DeLuca. DeLuca, a freshman lawmaker, originally trailed Appollonio by 65 votes based on preliminary results from Nov. 5. Following the recount, the margin narrowed to 44 votes. DeLuca did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment on Friday morning, but verbally acknowledged his loss to Appollonio at the end of the recount Thursday, Appollonio said.

Appollonio, a retired West Warwick police officer and first-time candidate, chalked up his win to "a lot of hard work" during the campaign season.

"We were very confident and optimistic going into the count," Appollonio said Friday. "We were, of course, happy with the results."

Appollonio's victory returns the eastern Warwick Senate district to Democratic representation. Prior to DeLuca's win in 2022, the seat was held for 20 years by Democrat Michael McCaffrey, who had served as Senate Majority leader since 2017.

Two open seat House races in Warwick and Cranston were also finalized following recounts Thursday.

In Warwick's House District 21, Republican Marie Hopkins bested Democrat James McElroy by 91 votes — up from her 85-vote lead prior to the recount.

Hopkins, whose campaign website describes her as a lifelong Rhode Islander, mother, nurse and teacher, narrowly lost the race for the same seat in 2022, losing to Democratic Rep. Camille Vella-Wilkinson by 38 votes. Vella-Wilkinson opted not to seek reelection this year.

Hopkins, reached on Friday, said her opponent was gracious in congratulating her. She also thanked the elections workers who conducted the recount and made the process transparent for all candidates.

"They worked long beyond their scheduled workday. They were marvelous," Hopkins said. "To the voters of District 21, I feel like I have said again and again, and it's the same message: I worked so hard for the privilege to serve and that I will continue to work hard. that's who I am. that's the job."

McElroy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Recount puts Cranston Republican on top in House District 15 race

The Republican candidate also triumphed in the open seat for Cranston's House District 15, formerly held by Republican Rep. Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung. Republican Chris Paplauskas, a five-term Cranston City Councilman, ultimately beat Democrat Maria Bucci by 26 votes, up from his 22-vote lead prior to the recount.

Both Paplauskas and Bucci attended the recount Thursday with their attorneys. According to Paplauskas, Bucci congratulated him on his victory after the recount concluded.

In races with 20,000 or fewer votes cast — the case for the state legislative contests in question — candidates can ask for a manual re-feeding of ballots when the losing candidate trails by 2% or 200 votes, whichever is less, according to state law.

The state election board expects to certify all election results by Nov. 21.

Janine L. Weisman contributed to this story.