Top Liberal Group Sours On Rhode Island Dem Gov Gina Raimondo, Moves To Recruit Primary Challenger

Democrat Governor Gina Raimondo’s performance in Rhode Island has been so terrible that even Democrat interest groups even are trying to stop her from winning a second term. After years of Raimondo’s failures to produce results for state, the head of Rhode Island’s branch of the National Education Association has revealed that he is personally recruiting a primary challenger to run against Raimondo – the most unpopular Democrat incumbent running for governor in 2018.

The Daily Kos reports:

“Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo recently vetoed a bill that would have extended municipal worker and teacher contracts indefinitely, and one state labor leader is quite pissed. Robert Walsh, the executive of the state branch of the National Education Association, told the Providence Journal that he’s trying to recruit a primary challenger. The paper said that Walsh named several prospects, though they didn’t publish any identifying details.

A few Democrats have made noises about launching a primary challenge over the last year. Back in February, termed-out Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said he was least a year away from starting “the thought process” on what to run for in 2018, if anything. In late December, ex-state police chief Brendan Doherty, who currently serves as director of special investigations for Blue Cross & Blue Shield, didn’t rule out a bid either. Neither Kilmartin nor Doherty, who lost a bid for RI-01 as a Republican in 2012, doesn’t appear to have said anything about their plans in months.

Ex-Gov. Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican senator who was elected governor as an independent in 2010, joined Team Blue midway through his term, and retired in the face of horrible approval ratings, has been a lot more vocal about a possible bid against Raimondo. However, the unpredictable Chafee, who launched a hopeless presidential bid in 2015, may not exactly be the type of person Walsh has in mind.”