Raymond Baccari
News Editor
The field of candidates hoping to replace Congressman Jim Langevin in Congressional District 2 continues to grow. As of late February, there are 11 candidates. The list of Democratic candidates included as of last week: Treasurer Seth Magaziner, former RIC administrator Ed Pacheco, Dr. Omar Bah, former national political strategist Michael Neary, and former Langevin staffer Joy Fox.
Add three more candidates to the list: former State Representative David Segal, who is currently exploring the option and is raising money. Providence firefighter Cameron Moquin, and U.S. Department of Commerce official Sarah Morgenthau.
Moquin is currently a Rescue Lieutenant for the Providence Fire Department. An official campaign launch is expected in the coming days.
This will be the second time Segal is running for Congress if he officially declares his candidacy. Segal previously ran for Congressional District 1 in 2010 placing third with 20.1% of the vote. Before his run for Congress and time as State Representative – Segal made history in the Providence City Council being Rhode Island’s first-ever Green Party elected official.
“People believe that the government should be able to do more for them, and they are right,” said Segal in a statement. “Effective progressive leaders need to know how to build broad coalitions, with clear purposes, that address shared concerns – and that’s what I’ve done on the local, state, and federal levels for the last 20 years.”
Morgenthau is currently the deputy assistant secretary for travel and tourism at the Commerce Department.
“These unprecedented times demand leadership with global experience but Ocean State perspective,” says Morgenthau in her announcement video. “And that’s exactly what I’ll bring to Congress. We need to re-emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever, bring good jobs back, fight climate change, expand tourism, and lower costs for families.”
Those who attend RIC may not know the amount of connections the college has in Rhode Island’s political world. In this election, four of the 11 candidates are alumni, the incumbent retiring is an alumnus and a former RIC administrator is running. Bonus fact: Fox and Moquin worked for The Anchor. Fox was a reporter and copy editor. Moquin was a contributor for the paper’s Arts and Entertainment section. Moquin also worked for WXIN and founded the Cycling Club.
The field of candidates will likely decrease as the September Primary gets closer. Until then, Rhode Island has its version of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary.