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PROVIDENCE — The political tidal wave that started with the September primaries washed over Rhode Island on Tuesday, as voters elected a new governor and a new mayor of Providence, but chose to keep incumbents, including the lieutenant governor and the entire congressional delegation, in place.
Democrat Helena Buonanno Foulkes won the Rhode Island governor’s race, defeating independent Ken Block and Republican Aaron Guckian, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at about 8:35 p.m.
In September, Foulkes trounced Governor Dan McKee, beating the incumbent in all 39 cities and towns, to win 62.5 percent of the vote to his 37.5 percent. McKee, whose popularity plummeted amid the closure of the Washington Bridge westbound, was the first incumbent Rhode Island governor to lose a primary in 32 years.
In Providence, state Representative David Morales sailed to victory over Dave Talan, a perennial candidate and leader of the Providence Republican Party. A democratic socialist, Morales, who has been a state representative since 2021, toppled incumbent Brett Smiley in September’s Democratic primary by 5 percentage points.
The Associated Press called the race at about 8:35 p.m. Morales, 28, will be the youngest mayor in Providence history.
National media has compared Morales to New York City’s Zohran Mamdani, and enthusiasm surrounding Morales’s candidacy was high, especially among younger voters. His win Tuesday ushers in a new era of left-wing politics in the city, but his association with socialism also brought some doubt and fear.
Morales ran on a promise to cap rents in the city, a policy that is expected to be quickly introduced by City Council leaders in January. He also supported Question 7, a controversial ballot measure aimed at divesting from Israel and companies it does business with, and has vowed not to renew the city’s existing contract with Flock for its automatic license plate reading cameras, which ends in May 2027.
In another milestone for the Ocean State, Democrat Kim Ahern won the race to replace term-limited Peter Neronha as the state’s attorney general, defeating Republican Alan Gordon, according to the Associated Press. She becomes the first openly LGBTQ+ person to hold statewide office.
Ahern, 42, was previously McKee’s deputy chief of staff and she was deputy counsel for former governor Gina M. Raimondo. She worked as a special assistant attorney general for nine years, and served as a Democratic Party delegate for Barack Obama in 2008.
Other statewide races upheld the status quo.
John Loughlin, the Republican candidate for Rhode Island’s lieutenant governor, conceded the race to Democratic incumbent Sabina Matos. The victory caps an extraordinary comeback from Matos, who failed to secure her party’s endorsement in the primary and was widely viewed as politically vulnerable following a disastrous run for Congress in 2023.
Matos’s apparent win also prevents Republicans from capturing their first statewide victory in Rhode Island since 2006, despite high hopes for Loughlin, a military veteran, former state representative, and talk-radio host who was viewed as a formidable challenger,
Incumbent Democratic General Treasurer James A. Diossa defeated Republican Micholas Credle, according to the Associated Press. Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore won reelection unopposed.
All members of the state’s congressional delegation will be returning to Washington, D.C. In the Second Congressional District, US Representative Seth Magaziner beat back a challenge by Victor Mellor, a Republican who has described himself as a “proud J6er” and has defended his actions at the Trump rally-turned-riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In the First Congressional District, US Representative Gabe Amo cruised to victory over Republican Kellie Keenan and independent candidate Pedro DeSouza.
In a US Senate race, Senator Jack Reed easily defeated Republican Raymond T. McKay and independent candidate Michael Anthony Bahry. The state’s other US Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse, was not on the ballot this year.
Turnout was on track to be nearly on par with the 2022 midterms, with 355,000 votes cast as of 7:45 p.m. Nearly 40 percent of voters cast ballots during the three-week early voting period or by mail, signaling an ongoing shift away from traditional Election Day voting.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan. Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado. Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.