RI GOP gubernatorial primary too close to call

Just 264 votes separated moderate Aaron Guckian from MAGA candidate Elaine Pelino in the GOP gubernatorial primary as of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, one of few races still too close to call.

Guckian led Pelino by 1.1 percentage points according to preliminary and unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Results from ballots cast on Wednesday in Little Compton, Portsmouth, Providence, and Warwick were still incomplete, along with some mail ballots.

A self-described “compassionate conservative,” Guckian, 50, offered a more tempered version of Republican ideology compared to Pelino’s outspoken Trumpian views. Guckian also has modest name recognition in Rhode Island, having worked as an aide for former Gov. Don Carcieri and ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022.

Pelino, by contrast, was a political newcomer. Yet, the 72-year-old led retired comedian led Guckian in multiple public polls leading up to the primary. Her campaign, run primarily through social media, espoused a clear Trump agenda, warning that the state’s leftward progression was veering into “socialism.”

Guckian, who won the Rhode Island GOP’s endorsement, emphasized his ability to work across the political aisle, including in his former job as executive director of the Rhode Island Dental Association. 

While voting at the Swift Community Center in East Greenwich Wednesday morning, Guckian argued with a poll worker who prevented him from taking a photo of his daughter Emma, 18, while she voted for the first time. Ballot selfies are allowed in Rhode Island as long as other voters’ ballots are not shown. Guckian did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon. 

The same poll worker also demanded that a Rhode Island Current photographer delete a photo she had just taken of a line of voters checking in at the Swift Community Center. Rhode Island Current did not delete the photo and left the building. The poll worker came outside and apologized to the photographer.

The primary winner will face Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes, and independents Ken Block, Jay Gotra, and C.D. Reynolds in the Nov. 3 general election. 

Laura Paton contributed to this story.