PROVIDENCE — The race to become Rhode Island’s next attorney is quickly becoming the state’s most intriguing 2026 contest aside from the governor’s race, and it is undergoing seismic changes, with more in store.
On the Democratic side, Representative Robert E. Craven Sr. is out. Representative Jason Knight is in. Keith Hoffmann is raking in campaign cash. Representative Joseph J. Solomon Jr. might soon jump in. And Cannabis Control Commission chairperson Kim Ahern is giving the race strong consideration.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Charles “Chas” Calenda plans to decide by the end of October whether to run for attorney general again in 2026.
Robert E. Craven Sr., a North Kingstown Democrat, announced his candidacy last Monday, entering the race with $320,617 in his campaign account. But he immediately faced questions about a pair of domestic violence incidents.
Craven told Globe columnist Dan McGowan he had never laid a hand on his wife. But Family Court court records showed his wife had reported that Craven grabbed her by the throat and pushed her to the ground during an argument in 2001.
Craven, 69, dropped out of the race on Thursday. And on Monday, he resigned as House Judiciary Committee chairman, announcing that he will not seek re-election next year.
Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat, announced his candidacy on Monday night at The Guild, in Warren.
“As a lawyer with more than a decade of courtroom experience, I know what it takes to get justice and how to stand up to bullies like Donald Trump,” Knight said. “Join my campaign because what Rhode Island needs right now is fewer kings and more Knights.”
Knight, 55, has represented House District 67, covering Warren and Barrington, since being elected in November 2016. He was the House sponsor of the 2025 law banning the sale, purchase, and manufacture of assault-style weapons, but not their possession.
Knight founded his own law office in 2010, specializing in criminal defense. From 2006 to 2010, he was a prosecutor in the attorney general’s office. And he served in the US Navy from 1988 to 1996 as an enlisted nuclear power operator.
Knight enters the race with $90,419 in his campaign account.
Keith Hoffmann, a Providence Democrat, announced his candidacy a week ago, at the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge.
On Monday, Hoffmann announced he has already raised $210,000 for his first campaign for public office.
“This campaign is about our families, our neighborhoods, and our shared belief that justice should belong to everyone,” Hoffmann said. “We’re going to keep growing our movement and raise the resources we need to win. Together, we can make our state stronger, safer, and fairer for all of us.”
Hoffmann, 38, was chief of policy and senior counsel for Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s office. He previously worked as chief of the attorney general’s civil rights unit. He helped to establish the attorney general’s public protection bureau, and to prepare the office to respond to the second Trump administration.
Joseph J. Solomon Jr., a Warwick Democrat, said he is “strongly considering” running for attorney general.
“I’ve been speaking with my family and friends and expect to make a decision sometime soon,” he said, adding that he has received “a lot of positive phone calls” since Ocean State Media’s Ian Donnis reported his interest. “I think I have a lot to offer between my legal and policy experience.”
Solomon, 42, has represented House District 22 since 2015, and he is chairman of the House Corporations Committee. He has been an attorney since 2008, practicing personal injury, criminal, and business law.
He has $250,280 in his campaign account.
Kim Ahern, a Providence Democrat, confirmed that she is “strongly considering” running for attorney general.
Kim Ahern, 41, became the inaugural chairperson of Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission in June 2023, overseeing the regulation, licensing, and enforcement of adult use and medical cannabis.
She was previously deputy chief of staff for Governor Daniel J. McKee, and deputy counsel for former Governor Gina M. Raimondo. She worked as a special assistant attorney general for nine years, serving under three attorneys general: Neronha, Peter Kilmartin, and Patrick Lynch. And she was a Democratic Party delegate for Barack Obama in 2008.
Ahern has not created a campaign account.
Charles “Chas” Calenda, a West Greenwich Republican, said he is considering another run for attorney general but hasn’t made a final decision. “I’ve set a self-imposed deadline of end of October to make a decision,” he said. “I have a lot on my plate so I need to make sure if I run, I can give it my all.”
In an Oct. 2 Facebook post, Calenda said he appreciated “an outpouring of support” encouraging him to run.
“I’m weighing my options and exploring the possibility of taking another run at it and expect to know in the coming weeks whether it will be something I am able to do,” he wrote. “Rhode Island politics is a dirty game, and I have to decide if I want to get back in that mud at this point in my life.”
Calenda, 44, was elected to the West Greenwich Town Council in 2024. He worked for 12 years as a special assistant attorney general, and he is a trial attorney at the Inman & Tourgee law firm in Coventry. He ran for attorney general in 2022, receiving 38.4 percent of the vote while Neronha received 61.5 percent.
Calenda has no money in his campaign account.
Neronha, a Jamestown Democrat, is term limited, and on Friday he announced he will “step away from politics at the end of my second term next year” rather than running in a Democratic primary for governor against McKee and Helena Buonanno Foulkes.
The primary election is set for Sept. 8, 2026, and the general election is set for Nov. 3, 2026.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.