CRANSTON – The race for Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District seat has only one Republican left after former state Rep. Robert Lancia, who was defeated by Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I., in the 2020 election, announced Wednesday that he is suspending his campaign.
Lancia didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request seeking comment as to why he is out of the running. In a statement he said it was “the hardest decision” of his life to drop out of the race.
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“The past three years running for the Rhode Island Congressional District 2 office has truly been an honor and such a pleasure meeting so many Rhode Islanders in my efforts to be an effective voice for the people,” Lancia said. “I know many of my supports will be shocked, disappointed and some even heartbroken over this decision [for me to leave the race].”
In a June 24 PBN cover story, Lancia, who served in the military, said he looked forward to joining a small group of disabled veterans on the House floor if elected. He also told PBN he wanted to have the U.S. Department of Education abolished as a means to fix education. He said the department has been “disappointing,” and he wanted to have the department’s approximately $80 billion distributed back to states and “let the states handle it and make their own decisions about programming and programs they need.”
Lancia also noted his candidacy “hallmark” was to try to make Providence’s waterfront a tourist destination with attractions to boost the state’s tourism industry.
With Lancia departing the race, that now leaves former Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung the only Republican left, with the Democratic side still stacked with candidates to replace Langevin, who is not seeking reelection.
A recent poll by the Boston Globe and Suffolk University looking at Rhode Island-based election races showed Fung leading each of his Democratic opponents – R.I. Treasurer Seth Magaziner; former Providence City Councilor and state Rep. David Segal; Joy E. Fox, CEO of Fox Group LLC, doing business as Clarendon Group II; Refugee Dream Center founder Omar Bah; and Sarah Morgenthau, former deputy assistant secretary for travel and tourism with the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Lancia said he looks forward to “helping elect Rhode Island Republicans up and down the ticket this November.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
