Our neighbors to the south in Rhode Island have an exciting prospect on their hands. According to reports from the Providence Journal and Rhode Island NPR, openly gay state Representative Frank Ferri (D-Warwick) is exploring taking a run for the Lt. Governor seat for the November election.
Ferri is perhaps most closely associated with the long campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Rhode Island where he was a leader in the Rhode Island Legislature battling conservative Democrats and ultra-right Republicans to win marriage for the state in 2013. He is also a former chair of Rhode Island Equality. Ferri and his husband, Anthony Caparco, had a wedding ceremony in Warwick on the day gay nuptials became legal, though they’d already wed in Canada years before.
Ferri, 60, represents Rhode Island House District 22 which includes Warwick, RI. He was first elected in a November 2007 special election called to fill the seat of former Rep. Peter Ginaitt. Ferri has owned Town Hall Lanes, a bowling alley in Johnston, for more than 25 years.
The Race
The race is wide open because current Democratic Lt. Governor Elizabeth Robert is barred from seeking office again due to term limits. Two Democrats have already jumped into the race — Cumberland, RI Mayor Dan McKee and Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, have been in the race and fundraising for some time — which puts Ferri at a disadvantage where money is concerned. Both candidates have significant campaign war chests compared to Ferri.
No Republican has announced for the office — yet. However, the Rhode Island Republican party has been hinting that it will announce a candidate soon.
Analysis
No one is handicapping the race just yet. Ferri still has a significant amount of time to raise the much-needed capital to finance a statewide run before the Rhode Island Primary on September 9. The three-way race is going to be a tough campaign, but Ferri isn’t a stranger to a challenge re: the RI marriage fight.
Ferri has solid progressive chops to stand on and this will be attractive to progressive Rhode Islanders and progressive organizations looking for strong candidates. He also has significant support from those organizations that supported the equal marriage fight — such as the Victory Fund and HRC (not that either has endorsed his candidacy yet … yet).
He also stands out in the particularly dull crowd of Mollis and McKee and gives the race a depth and dimension that demonstrates how far conservative Rhode Island has come in its politics over the past decade.
Stay tuned for more on Ferri’s decision
Candidate Information:
