Voting in the RI Primary? Here's what you should know about the delegates on the ballot

Katherine Gregg, Providence Journal
·4 min read

What do the delegates do?

They vote. They socialize. They applaud speeches.

On the GOP side, they vote on the rules of order for how the convention will be conducted, how the Republican National Committee will operate over the next four years, the party platform, and for a presidential and vice presidential nominee. They also get to spend a lot of time socializing.

At the start, they will vote for the candidate to whom they have committed, unless the candidate has released them. In subsequent ballots, if they were to occur, each state delegation is governed by different rules, but generally, people can vote for whomever they want.

On the Democratic side, "Delegates will be attending meetings and caucuses during the convention. Their primary responsibility is to vote in accordance with the primary results and to vote on the Democratic party platform," according to Party Chair Liz Beretta-Perik.

Who are the "delegates to the national convention" on the ballot?

There are 16 Democrats and 53 Republicans seeking the chance to go to their party's national conventions this summer as delegates.

Rhode Island Democrats will send 30 delegates and two alternates, including the state's two U.S. senators, two U.S. representatives, the governor and other notables, to their party's convention. Only 14 of those seats are up for grabs in the April 2 primary.

There are 16 Biden-pledged Democrats competing for those 14 seats, including three city mayors: Brett Smiley of Providence, Don Grebien of Pawtucket and Maria Rivera of Central Falls.

In addition to the three mayors, the list of Biden-pledged delegate candidates includes:

  • Sen. Sandra Cano of Pawtucket

  • Kinnan G.S. Dowie

  • William Foulkes, the husband of 2022 gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes

  • Matthew Gunnip, SEIU Local 580 president

  • Thomas William Kane, Senate aide and chairman of the Cumberland Democratic Town Committee

  • Senate Majority Leader Ryan Pearson

  • Kristan Peters-Hamlin

  • Debra Rota, a special assistant in the governor's office.

  • Melissa Carden; executive director of the R.I. Coalition Against Gun Violence

  • Autumn Guillotte, a Rhode Island AFL-CIO field director

  • Erica Hammond, field director for Climate Jobs Rhode Island

  • Mary-Murphy Walsh, an elected organizer at SEIU 1199 and president of Young Democrats of Rhode Island

  • Jay Gorman Wegimont, a Providence school district spokesman.

On the Republican side, there are 25 candidates competing to be Haley delegates at the Republican National Convention, 24 backing Trump and four running as "uncommitted" Republican delegates.

The state GOP gets to send a total of 35 delegates, 32 of them elected (including 16 elected delegates and 16 "alternates") and three more who go by virtue of their party positions: National Committeeman Steve Frias, National Committeewoman Sue Cienki and state GOP Chairman Joe Powers.

"We are a proportional state, meaning the delegates are awarded based upon how their candidates do in the primary," Cienki explains. "A candidate must win 10% of the vote to be awarded any delegates."

Those seeking to go to the convention as elected Haley delegates include:

  • Former state GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione;

  • Former Rep. Dan Reilly

  • Kenneth Naylor, chairman of Rhode Island Young Republicans

  • Christopher Gontarz, president-elect of the Rhode Island Bar Association.

In addition, the aspiring Haley delegates include:

  • Will Ricci, assistant treasurer of the state GOP

  • Kathleen M. Dickinson

  • Martin A. Saklad

  • Longtime Providence GOP activist David Talan

  • Melita M. Warner

  • John Buehler

  • John D. Conforti

  • Harry Joseph Curran

  • Theresa M. Daly

  • Lori Morse

  • Stephanie Calise

  • Sheila Lee Curran

  • William Dewitt

  • Hopkinton Town Councilman Scott Bill Hirst

  • Kirk Jordan; former Bar Association President

  • Thomas Lyons

  • Paul Maloney

  • Richmond Town Councilman Richard Nassaney

  • Emmanuel Cholo Nyema

  • Home health care lobbyist and former member of the East Providence Board of Canvassers Nicholas Oliver

  • Stephen K. Swallow.

Those seeking to go as Trump delegates include:

  • Rep. Sherry Roberts

  • Former state Rep. Justin Price, the only Rhode Island legislator who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The other Trump delegate hopefuls include:

  • Former state Rep. Paul Durfee

  • Paul Carroll; John M. Conte

  • Edward Doura Jr.

  • Susan Anne Grenon

  • Olga Harbar

  • Michelle M. Sztabor

  • Lacey McGreevy

  • Harold Robert Rilling

  • Sean M. Todd

  • Exeter Republican Chair Diane Bampton Allen

  • Catherine E. Canavan

  • Bristol Town Republican Chairman Thomas M. Carroll

  • Aimee M. DeGregory

  • Allyn E. Meyers

  • Jennifer P. Nerbonne

  • Kathleen Odell

  • Esmeralda M. Pereira

  • Jorge Porras

  • Gregory J. Rice

  • David J. Shepherd

  • Preston W. Woodward.

There are also three candidates seeking to go to the national GOP convention as uncommitted delegates: Karin N. Gorman, Stacia Huyler and Robert D. Sullivan III.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Primary Election 2024: Who are the delegates on the ballot