CRANSTON – A third Republican has entered the race for Rep. James R. Langevin’s soon-to-be-vacant U.S. House 2nd Congressional District seat this election year.
Sen. Jessica de la Cruz, R-Glocester, the current R.I. Senate minority whip who was first elected to the General Assembly in 2018, formally announced Wednesday at 39 West Restaurant & Lounge her campaign to run for Congress. De La Cruz had been rumored over the last couple of months in wanting to run for Langevin’s seat.
De la Cruz is also the second Congressional candidate who is currently holding an elected position in Rhode Island. The other is current R.I. Treasurer Seth Magaziner, who is seeking the Democratic nomination.
De la Cruz joins former Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung and past Congressional candidate Robert Lancia in the Republican primary.
De la Cruz, a daughter of Portuguese immigrants, said Wednesday she chose to run for Congress because after the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden promised “moderation and community.” Instead, she said, the country has “economic chaos and increasing division.”
De la Cruz said her senatorial inbox has been “filled with messages” from Rhode Islanders who are struggling to feed their families, pay bills, fill their gas tanks and make ends meet. She also said she first delved into politics after her eldest son was born and saw how “government impacts a family’s life.”
De la Cruz also said she sees the field of current Congressional candidates that is “a bunch of millionaires and career politicians who are completely out of touch with the pain Rhode Islanders are facing.”
“Rhode Islanders need relief now. Rhode Islanders need change now,” de la Cruz said. “This election is our chance … to send a message to Washington [D.C.] by sending a regular working mom to Congress to represent regular working people.”
De la Cruz highlighted her efforts to save the Eleanor Slater Hospital Zambarano Unit in Burrillville from closure to support the patients and families “who depend on it.” The current proposed state budget includes allocated funding to keep the Zambarano Unit open, she said.
De la Cruz said police needs support and not be defunded, and children deserve to have an “excellent” education. She also said inflation can be defeated and lower gas prices through “common-sense policies,” such as expanding domestic energy production and stopping “wasteful” spending.
On the Democratic side, Sarah Morgenthau, a current deputy assistant secretary for travel and tourism with the U.S. Department of Commerce; Michael Neary, a former advocate for Ohio Gov. and 2016 presidential candidate John Kasich; Clarendon Group CEO and past Gov. Gina M. Raimondo communications director Joy E. Fox; Refugee Dream Center Founder Omar Bah and Rhode Island College Interim Director of External Relations and Communications Edwin R. Pacheco are all in the running for Langevin’s seat.
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.
