Sep 7, 2008 1:31 pm US/Eastern
RI Voters Get Few Choices In Primary Election
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) ―
Rhode Island voters will get few choices in Tuesday's primary election, which includes a race between Sen. Jack Reed and a longshot challenger who has previously failed to win office. Voting officials expect turnout will be light.
Reed was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. A West Point graduate and former Army Ranger, Reed is one of the Democratic Party's national security experts and a leading anti-war voice after he voted against authorizing the most recent Iraq War.
His public status has ascended in recent months, when he accompanied Barack Obama on a tour of Iraq and Afghanistan in July and was briefly mentioned as a potential running mate for the Democratic presidential candidate. He delivered a prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last month.
His opponent, Christopher Young, has not raised any money to match Reed's $3.8 million campaign fund, according to campaign finance reports. He has run twice before the U.S. Senate, including in 2006, when he also sought unsuccessfully to be mayor of Providence.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse does not face re-election until 2012, while Reps. Jim Langevin and Patrick Kennedy do not have primary challengers.
Primary elections are being held for just under a quarter of the 113 seats in the General Assembly. The Republican minority leader, Rep. Robert Watson of East Greenwich, faces a challenge from Robert Bolton.
Democrat Richard Rodi is trying to unseat Rep. David Segal of Providence, one of the youngest House members.
The death this year of longtime Sen. Roger Badeau has triggered a competitive primary in Woonsocket. In May, Badeau's Senate seat was filled by Rep. Roger Picard. Now six candidates -- including Picard's brother Richard -- are vying for the House seat that Picard left.
Rhode Island's raucous debate over illegal immigration is playing out in Cranston, where Rep. Peter Palumbo faces John DeGenova in the Democratic primary.
Palumbo supported Republican Gov. Don Carcieri's executive order cracking down on illegal immigrants. His order forces state police and prison officials to identify illegal immigrants for possible deportation.
It also requires state agencies and companies doing business with the state to check the immigration status of their employees using a federal database called E-Verify, a requirement now being challenged in a lawsuit.
During the legislative session, Palumbo sponsored bills that would have gone even further, including making it a felony to knowingly rent a home to an illegal immigrant. None of the legislation passed.
Palumbo has argued that Rhode Island, which is facing major budget deficits, should not make spending cuts that hurt its citizens unless it also targets people who are in the country illegally.
DeGenova has said that Palumbo is a poor representative of the Democratic Party and said his tough talk on immigration encourages intolerance.
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