A confluence of events had to happen for this seat to be at risk. First, it was saved from the chopping block in the 2020 Census. Next, Rep. Jim Langevin had to retire. After that, a strong candidate in Allan Fung had to run. This seat is in great peril of flipping. It is up to us to make sure that Seth Magaziner, our candidate for Rhode Island’s 2nd district, keeps it in our column!
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Seth Magaziner for Rhode Island-2!
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Candidate Background
Seth Magaziner is a typical pro-business Democrat in Rhode Island, and his background reflects that. I relied mostly on his campaign site for this information, and I expect others to fill in the gaps.
- Magaziner went to Brown University, where he was president of the local Democratic chapter. He would eventually wind up in the Yale Management School, where he earned his MBA.
- He taught elementary school for a couple of years in Louisiana as a part of Teach for America, and then he went to work for a venture capital firm and other associated businesses in Rhode Island.
- He ran for State Treasurer in 2014, and he won that race. He established an infrastructure bank and created a transparency initiative for the state retirement system.
Signature Issues
With his pro-business leanings, it is likely that Magaziner would join the New Democratic Coalition if elected to Congress. He will likely be a reliable vote on most issues, and will vote for the Biden agenda nearly 100% of the time. His opponent, Allan Fung, would likely NOT do so.
Climate Change and Energy: He would invest in clean energy, including offshore wind farms. He would vote to hold oil and gas companies accountable for price gouging, and would create an infrastructure bank to fund climate change initiatives.
Defending Democracy: Magaziner would be another vote for the John Lewis VRA, as well as making sure that TFG is held responsible for the 1/6 insurrection. Finally, he would support term limits for Congress, which is still controversial in DC but appreciated by voters across America.
Health Care and Abortion: Unlike Langevin who was wishy washy on abortion, Magaziner is 100% committed to a pro-choice platform on abortion rights. He would expand the ACA, though he does not go into detail on how. He would fight for lower drug prices like in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Elections History
Recent Elections —
2020 President: Joe Biden (D) 55.8%, TFG (R-inc) 42.2%
2020 House: Jim Langevin (D-inc) 58.2%, Robert Lancia (R) 41.5%
2022 PVI: D+4
2022 Race Rating: Tossup
This district has been represented by Democrats since 1990, when the previous incumbent decided to run for a Senate seat. This was the House seat Sen. Jack Reed used to represent before he leveled up to the Senate. There isn’t a whole lot to write about for this district, because there haven’t been many close races in my lifetime.
In terms of presidential numbers, Obama carried this district twice with over 60% of the vote. That builds off of Kerry winning 57% and Gore winning 60% of the vote in the elections previous to Obama. The collapse in support for Democratic candidates came with Hillary Clinton. She could only win this district 51-44 during the 2016 election. Biden restored the seat to the margins above.
Political Tour of the District
This district contains the rural areas of Rhode Island, as well as portions of Providence. It really shouldn’t be a contest, yet here we are, analyzing a district Biden won easily in 2020.
Here’s where this race will be won in the 2nd district.
- Providence and Cranston: These cities are bright blue, and they represent the biggest source of votes for Magaziner to win in his election attempt. The fly in the ointment is that Allan Fung is the mayor of Cranston, which means his base of support is here too.
- Rhode Island Coast: As you go along the coast of Rhode Island, you run into small cities and towns that vote Democratic as well, albeit by a lesser margin than the ones above. Magaziner needs to hold the line here or risk losing it all to Fung.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
- Rural Areas: The western border of the state has areas that actually vote for the GQP. Magaziner cannot expect much support from these rural areas, but in a state as small as Rhode Island he cannot ignore them either.
Activism — Help How You Can!
Seth Magaziner had a late primary win, which definitely makes this task a lot more difficult. He did raise $692k for the 2nd quarter, and also $837k for the 3rd quarter. He had $1.7 MILLION to spend after June, and a lesser $881k to spend after September due to the late primary. He is one candidate that needs donations URGENTLY still!
Allan Fung consolidated support behind him before the primary even started, so he was allowed to sit back and let the Democrats be in disarray. He raised $348k for the 2nd quarter and a bigger $689k for the 3rd quarter. He had $762k in funds after June, and $773k to spend after September. It is likely dark money will be a huge factor in this race as it may tip control of the House to the GQP.
DONATE TO SETH MAGAZINER HERE
How do you convince those on the fence to vote for you? Old fashioned persuasion with volunteer boots on the ground and through phone banking of course! As we grow ever closer to election day, the need for volunteers only grows. This race still has a lot of undecided voters, meaning Magaziner needs that volunteer army to reach out to people to ensure victory.
VOLUNTEER FOR HIS CAMPAIGN HERE
In terms of social media, it seems that Magaziner has a decent start, but he could always do better. He has 9.2k followers on Twitter, where he has been prodigious of late. He also has accounts on Facebook and Instagram just like everyone else I have written about. It is likely his message is getting out, yet people are still on the fence about him. Instead of invoking McCarthy, he should invoke MTG.
Magaziner also has a YouTube channel for all of his ads. Here is a better ad for the general election campaign.
Majority Savers concludes Defending Seats Week with a district that really should NOT be on this list. Don’t the people of Rhode Island know that a vote for ANY member of the GQP is a vote to enable Speaker McCarthy or worse, Speaker Jim Jordan? It is harrowing that our majority could be lost in a district that went for Biden so easily. Yet, Seth Magaziner has a tall task ahead of him...
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Seth Magaziner for Rhode Island-2!
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