Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023

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Former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Gabe Amo (D) defeated Marine Veteran Gerry Leonard (R) to win the special election to fill the seat representing Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House on November 7, 2023. The primary election was held September 5, 2023. The filing deadline was June 30, 2023.^[1]

The special election filled the vacancy left by David Cicilline (D), who resigned on May 31, 2023, to run the Rhode Island Foundation.^[2][3]

Amo listed "preventing gun violence and ensuring safe communities ... protecting social security and medicare and lowering the cost of prescription drugs ... ensuring access to safe, legal abortion for all" and "fighting climate change" as some of his top issues.^[4]

Leonard said the "national debt is the biggest issue that is going to affect our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren" and said the country needs to grow the economy by "enacting pro-growth policies, reducing red tape, and incentivizing small and mid-size businesses."^[5]

As of June 15, 2024, 12 special elections have been called for the 118th Congress. From the 113th Congress to the 117th Congress, 67 special elections were held. For more data on historical congressional special elections, click here.

Ballotpedia identified the September 5, 2023, Democratic primary as a battleground primary. For more on the Democratic primary, click here.

This page focuses on Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election. For more in-depth information on the district's special primaries, see the following pages:
Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Democratic primary)
Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Gabe Amo defeated Gerry Leonard in the special general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabe Amo (D)	64.9	43,290
		Gerry Leonard (R)	35.1	23,393

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,683
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Stephen Earle (Independent)
• Julian J. Smith (Independent)
• Richard O'Shea (Independent)
• John Vitkevich (Independent)
• Jeffrey Lemire (Independent)
• Christopher Reynolds (Independent)
• Joseph Jean-Philippe (Independent)
• Paul Rianna Jr. (Independent)
• John Ritchie (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 5, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabe Amo	32.4	12,946
		J. Aaron Regunberg	24.9	9,960
		Sandra Cano	13.9	5,574
		Sabina Matos	8.0	3,210
		Stephen Casey	5.8	2,329
		Walter Berbrick	3.6	1,453
		Ana Quezada	3.5	1,415
		John Goncalves	2.8	1,118
		Don Carlson (Unofficially withdrew)	1.7	690
		Allen Waters	1.3	503
		Stephanie Beauté	1.1	428
		Spencer Dickinson	0.9	354

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,980
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bella Noka (D)
• Nicholas Autiello II (D)
• Nathan Biah (D)
• Paul LeBon (D)
• Toni Sfameni (D)
• Kathleen Gaskell (D)
• Larry Hutchinson Jr. (D)
• Gregory Mundy (D)
• Michael Tillinghast (D)
• Marvin Abney (D)
• Mickeda Barnes (D)

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Gerry Leonard defeated Terri Flynn in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 5, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gerry Leonard	75.7	3,076
		Terri Flynn	24.3	989

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,065
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• William LeBron Jr. (R)
• Barrett Lynton (R)
• Gary Donald (R)
• Uloma Ekpete Kama (R)

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Gabe Amo

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Gabe Amo is a proud Rhode Islander, a Pawtucket native, and the son of Ghanaian and Liberian immigrants. His mother is a nurse and his father is a small business owner. He graduated from Moses Brown School in Providence, where he was President of the Student Senate and received the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s Civic Leadership Award. Gabe graduated from Wheaton College magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and was also President of the Student Government Association. He received a Truman Scholarship for public service, and after graduating, received a Marshall Scholarship to study public policy at Oxford. Gabe Amo’s commitment to service inspired him to work in the Obama and Biden administrations, as well as for former Governor Gina Raimondo. Under President Obama, Gabe served in the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. He was then appointed by former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to serve as her Director of Public Engagement and Community Affairs. Most recently and until April 2023, Gabe served as Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, where he served as President Biden’s principal liaison to mayors and local elected officials."

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Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

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In the White House, I was often the first call to a mayor following a mass shooting. In 2022, I was the first call after deadly shootings in Uvalde, in Buffalo, and in Highland Park. After these acts of senseless violence, I brought the condolences of the President and the entire Administration, as well as the commitment of the federal government to help their communities heal. I am proud to have been the first candidate in this race to announce real steps – not just rhetoric – that I would take as a member of Congress to prevent gun violence from happening in the first place and ensure that when it does, shooters don’t have access to weapons of war designed to inflict massive damage on human bodies. Full plan at gabeamo.com/gabes-plan.

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Right now, we are dealing with serious threats to our democracy and our freedoms, including the freedom to thrive in this economy. Too many Rhode Island families are feeling economic anxiety due to the increased cost of living and housing affordability. This is especially true for our seniors. Republicans in Congress are attacking the livelihoods of Rhode Island seniors and pushing dramatic cuts to Social Security and Medicare. These are programs that people have paid into and that they have earned. Read my full plan here: gabeamo.com/gabes-plan.

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No member of Congress should stand in between a woman and her doctor. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, they overturned nearly 50 years of protection for safe, legal abortion. The work of public servants, advocates, and community activists have made Rhode Island a safe haven for access to safe, affordable, and accessible abortion. It is our responsibility to protect these rights nationally and ensure access for all women. Read my full plan at gabeamo.com/gabes-plan

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 in 2023.

Voting information

See also

• Special elections to the 118th United States Congress (2023-2024)
• Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Democratic primary)
• Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023 (September 5 Republican primary)

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes