CRANSTON – R.I. Treasurer Seth Magaziner has changed course in seeking higher office, going from targeting the state’s highest elected post to now looking to serve in Congress.
Magaziner announced Wednesday he is now running for the U.S. House 2nd District seat set to be vacated by Rep. James R. Langevin, D-R.I. Langevin is not seeking reelection this November after serving 11 terms in Washington, D.C.
Let’s Save Big with Rhode Island Energy Efficiency Programs
Nestled alongside the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, RI, in a historic National Heritage Corridor that…
Learn More
Magaziner initially was campaigning for governor, running against former CVS Health Corp. executive Helena Foulkes, Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea and Matt Brown, former R.I. secretary of state, in the Democratic field. Gov. Daniel J. McKee has not formally announced his candidacy as an incumbent.
Now, Magaziner enters a field for Langevin’s seat that includes Democrats Edwin R. Pacheco and Omar Bah, founder of the Refugee Dream Center in Providence, as well as Republican Robert Lancia.
Magaziner told reporters at William Hall Library that while it was a “hard decision” to run for Congress, he’s won elections “districtwide” and has served the 2nd District in his role as treasurer.
Magaziner currently lives 1 mile outside the 2nd District. Although federal policy states that members of Congress do not have to live in the district they represent, he said he is “committed” to moving to the district.
He added he’s not concerned about a negative perception among voters that his shift to running for Langevin’s seat after campaigning for governor suggests he is more focused on self-interest than public interest.
He said he’s “confident we will win this race.” He added that he has delivered on various issues within the 2nd District as treasurer, such as school construction, managing the state’s pension system and working on clean energy initiatives.
“The voters in the 2nd District know me,” he said. “They know I can deliver results. They know that I’m a person of integrity and a person who believes on issues.”
He said he’s also seeking Langevin’s seat because there is a “fight for our generation” currently happening in Washington, D.C., to preserve the country’s democracy – a statement he repeated multiple times during his press event.
“This is serious business this year,” Magaziner said. “[Former President Donald] Trump is not going away. [U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy, R-Calif., is not going away. This is a year where pundits say that Republicans are on the offensive nationally. We can’t mess around. We have to hold this seat.”
Magaziner said his platform will be similar to his campaigns for treasurer. He wants to see universal preschool and college for affordable, as well as wanting to see school construction included in federal infrastructure initiatives, which he said was left out of the recent infrastructure bill that Congress passed.
If elected, he said he will introduce legislation calling for health care workers to get a raise, he said.
Even with shifting his political focus to Washington, Magaziner said he will still push “very hard” to have state lawmakers approve a $300 million school construction bond proposal and get it on the ballot for voters in November.
In a brief statement, Gorbea said Magaziner has served the state “ably” as treasurer and “will bring his ideas for how to innovate in the areas of infrastructure, education and climate to the congressional race.”
Foulkes in a tweet Wednesday thanked Magaziner for his “commitment to reproductive freedom, strong schools and good-paying jobs” during the governor’s race.
(UPDATES throughout with details, comment from Magaziner announcement, gubernatorial candidates.)
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.
What a joke this guy is, what way shall the wind blow tomorrow? LOOSER!
Foulkes and Gorbea are both just plain glad to see Seth go, period. The only thing that scares me more than Seth being elected Governor is Nellie being elected Governor.
Since when you really examine what Seth has done as Treasurer, basically zero, it should be easy for an R or Indy to beat him. Of course, Seth spent $1.5 million to get elected Treasurer (which makes no sense from a financial perspective and which, BTW, he has never fully explained where that $1.5 million came from), so God only knows how much he’ll blow trying to win the CD2 seat or where that mystery money will come from.