Rhode Island taps establishment picks

Rhode Island held its primary elections Wednesday, with voters largely sticking with incumbents on the Democratic side, including rejecting a progressive candidate in favor of the pro-business incumbent in the governor’s race. Gov. Gina Raimondo fended off her more liberal challenger Matt Brown, the state’s former secretary of state, and will face Tuesday’s Republican winner, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, and independent candidate Joe Trillo in November. Raimondo and Fung previously battled for the governor’s mansion in 2014.

In Rhode Island’s U.S. Senate race, incumbent Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse easily secured his party’s nomination with more than 70 percent of the vote. Former state Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders won the GOP nomination. In the state’s two congressional races, incumbent Democratic Rep. David Cicilline won his primary for the 1st Congressional District and will face GOP nominee Patrick Donovan. In the 2nd District, incumbent Democratic Rep. James Langevin and GOP candidate Salvatore Caiozzo ran unopposed and look toward their battle in November.

New York holds its primary Thursday. In the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, actress and progressive activist Cynthia Nixon is challenging incumbent Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose establishment endorsements include former Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The winner will face Republican nominee Marc Molinaro, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, and former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, an independent, in the November general election. But both Democratic candidates could end up on the November ballot, thanks to a state law allowing candidates to run simultaneously as various third-party candidates.