In a rare Wednesday primary, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) won her nomination for a second term, fending off a challenge from former Secretary of State Matt Brown. Brown was one of several more progressive candidates trying to unseat more centrist Democrats, with mixed results. Raimondo bested him, 57 percent to 34 percent. She will face Cranston Mayor Allan Fung, who won the Republican primary against state House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan. It will be a rematch.
Fung lost to Raimondo in the 2014 race by 4.5 percentage points. That election, like this one, was a three-way contest; this year, former GOP lawmaker Joe Trillo is expected to run as an independent. Some polls show a competitive race, but Raimondo is the early favorite in the heavily Democratic state. "While Democrats dominate the state and hold supermajorities in its legislature," The Washington Post notes, "socially conservative Democrats hold the balance of power." Progressive challengers unseated a few state lawmakers on Wednesday and failed to unseat others.
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