{"id":2022866,"date":"2023-09-05T22:40:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T02:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-white-house-aide-wins-crowded-rhode-island-primary-for-us-congress-open-seat\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T22:40:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T02:40:42","slug":"biden-white-house-aide-wins-crowded-rhode-island-primary-for-us-congress-open-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-white-house-aide-wins-crowded-rhode-island-primary-for-us-congress-open-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden aide triumphs in Rhode Island primary for US Congress vacancy."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-white-house-aide-wins-crowded-rhode-island-primary-for-us-congress-open-seat%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2022866&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>In a Surprise\u200c Upset, Former White House Aide Gabriel Amo Wins Rhode Island&#8217;s Special Primary<\/h2>\n<p>In a surprising turn of events, Gabriel Amo, a former White House aide to both the Biden and \u2063Obama administrations, has emerged as \u2062the Democratic winner in Rhode Island&#8217;s special primary for an\u2062 open seat in U.S. Congress. \u2063This \u200cseat was unexpectedly left behind by one of the most liberal congressmen in Washington politics.<\/p>\n<p>Out\u200b of the 11 Democrats competing for the \u20621st Congressional District seat, Amo pulled \u200dahead \u2063of frontrunner Aaron Regunberg, securing an 8\u2064 percent\u2062 lead with 90 percent of precincts reporting their voting results. It&#8217;s worth\u2064 noting that Regunberg had \u2064the backing of both U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Bernie\u2063 Sanders.<\/p>\n<p>Amo, a 36-year-old son of \u200cLiberian immigrants, ran on a platform focused on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-democrats-consider-scheduling-vote-on-controversial-gun-control-bill-in-next-two-weeks-report-says\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Democrats Consider Scheduling Vote On \u2018Controversial\u2019 Gun Control Bill In Next Two Weeks, Report Says\">gun control legislation<\/a>. He previously served as the deputy director of the White House Office\u2063 of\u200d Intergovernmental Affairs and special assistant to the president, \u200dacting as a \u200dliaison between President Joe Biden and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-white-house-aide-wins-crowded-rhode-island-primary-for-us-congress-open-seat\/\" title=\"Biden aide triumphs in Rhode Island primary for US Congress vacancy.\">locally-elected officials<\/a> such as mayors.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/democrat-david-cicilline-to-retire-from-congress-in-june-5072701\">Democrat David Cicilline to \u2064Retire From Congress In June<\/a> (2\/21\/2023)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/midterm-elections-updates-kemp-and-abrams-go-at-it-again-4830905\">Midterm \u2063Elections Updates:\u2064 Liberal Rhode Island Could Send Republican \u2062to US House<\/a> (10\/31\/2022)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Prior\u2062 to his role in the White House, Amo held the same position under President Barack Obama. In Rhode Island, he served\u200b as Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo&#8217;s principal adviser.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being \u2064considered the\u200d least liberal among \u200dthe left-wing lineup of \u2064Democratic candidates, Amo managed to outshine Regunberg, who was criticized by the Rhode \u200bIsland Chapter of the Democrat Socialists of\u2064 America for not being left enough.<\/p>\n<p>During his\u200b campaign, Regunberg emphasized his support for \u2064Planned Parenthood, called for increased protection of the LGBT community, and advocated for U.S. Supreme Court reform.<\/p>\n<p>In endorsing Regunberg, Bernie Sanders highlighted the need for someone \u2063in Congress who would fight against powerful special interests, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bipartisan-bill-seeks-to-penalize-colleges-while-providing-relief-to-student-loan-borrowers\/\" title=\"Bipartisan bill seeks to penalize colleges, while providing relief to student loan borrowers\">address student loan debt<\/a>, combat corporate greed, and \u200dpropose\u2063 solutions to climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Amo will be replacing David Cicilline, who\u2064 championed a federal Transgender Bill of Rights during his\u2062 eight-year tenure in Congress. Cicilline recently\u2062 announced his\u2064 resignation \u200dto assume the role of president at the Rhode Island Foundation, the state&#8217;s largest fundraising organization.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 1st Congressional District includes Newport, known for\u200b its opulent mansions and its history\u200d as a Kennedy romping ground. It was even referred to as the Summer White House during President\u2063 John F.\u2064 Kennedy&#8217;s administration.<\/p>\n<p>Finishing in \u200ba \u2063surprising fourth place behind Amo was Rhode Island Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, who was \u200bconsidered a close second to Regunberg. Both candidates faced allegations of unethical campaign practices against each other in the final weeks of the campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Regunberg is currently under investigation for a $119,000 campaign contribution made by \u200da super PAC \u200ccreated \u200bby his father-in-law. Federal election\u2064 laws prohibit candidates from soliciting\u200c more than $5,000 from super PACs. Regunberg denies any\u200d knowledge or involvement in his father-in-law&#8217;s contribution.<\/p>\n<p>Matos, on the other hand, faced scrutiny after unauthorized signatures and signatures \u200cof deceased individuals were found among the 1,526 signatures she collected on her nomination papers.<\/p>\n<p>On the \u200cRepublican side, only two candidates competed for\u2064 the seat. Gerry Leonard, a\u200b retired U.S. \u200cMarine\u2063 colonel who served \u200cfor 30\u2063 years, took an early lead over Terry Flynn, a former member\u2062 of Middletown&#8217;s planning board and town council. Leonard \u2063focused his campaign on opposing &#8220;Bidenomics&#8221; and reducing the\u2063 national \u2062debt.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width:429px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Republican\u2064 Gerry Leonard wins the \u200dtwo-person GOP primary in \u2064Rhode Island. (Courtesy of the Gerry Leonard campaign)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While Leonard&#8217;s victory is expected to be short-lived in\u200d the politically blue state of Rhode Island, there is always room for\u200c surprises. Allan Fung, a Rhode Island attorney specializing in fiscal management and public policy law, nearly became\u2062 the first Republican New Englander sent to\u2064 Washington in years during the 2022 \u2064midterm \u200delections. He fell short by less than 4 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n<p>Although liberal views still dominate Rhode \u2064Island politics, Fung, \u2064who is \u200bAsian American, believes that a shift towards middle-of-the-road politics \u200cis possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former White House aide to Biden and Obama administrations unexpectedly won the crowded Democratic primary in Rhode Island for an open seat in Congress. The seat was vacated by one of the most liberal congressmen, causing a surprise upset in Washington politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":2022867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}