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Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island on Wednesday defeated a Liberal challenger in a Democratic primary election, according to the Associated Press, reaffirming herself as the party's leader in a country where she fought against the critics of left-wing activists and lawmakers in his own camp.
Raimondo, 47, faces a serious fight for re-election in November, despite Rhode Island's democratic membership and tough political climate for Republicans in the country. Polls have always shown her vulnerable to defeat, although she and her allies believe it will be difficult for a Republican to escape the shadow of President Trump, who is rather unpopular in the state.
She will face Allan Fung, Cranston's Republican mayor, who also ran against her four years ago in November.
Complicating matters for both sides, Joe Trillo, a former Republican state legislator who presided over Trump's campaign in Rhode Island, is also running as an independent candidate.
Raimondo's main opponent, Matt Brown, tried to channel the energy of the populist left, portraying her as too close to powerful financial interests. Brown, former secretary of state for Rhode Island, has garnered support from leftist militant groups such as Justice Democrats and Our Revolution, a committee aligned with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.
But the populist message of Mr. Brown has failed to anger a well-funded incumbent who is one of only two Democratic governors in the country. (Kate Brown from Oregon is the other.)
Ms. Raimondo, a former venture capital executive, won her first term in 2014 with the support of only 41% of the voters of Rhode Island, after a third party got support from the spokespersons. Democrats and Republicans. It has sometimes struggled to navigate the insular political culture of the state legislature of Rhode Island, where Democrats hold majorities, but powerful party leaders and well-established local interests limit the governor's influence.
The fragile economy of Rhode Island has been a persistent political challenge for Ms. Raimondo, who has engaged in her campaigns to help restore the economic vitality of the state.
Rhode Island has struggled longer than most states to get rid of the effects of the latest recession, sometimes registering the country's highest employment rate. Ms. Raimondo had a successful career where Fortune 500 companies and other companies announced plans to expand or expand their operations in Rhode Island. The unemployment rate has declined quite steadily during its tenure, now reaching 4.1%, slightly above the national average. But some Democrats and Republicans have argued that it should have done more to improve the economy and salaries of the state's residents.
Ms. Raimondo has also been haunted by her review of the pension system. The stringent measures she took years ago as treasurer of the state, including the elimination of increases in the cost of living and the transfer of workers to different retirement accounts, have earned her hostility persistent many powerful unions.
And she oversaw the failed start of a new $ 364 million computer system that failed in its goal of helping residents register for food vouchers and food. health benefits.
"There is a percentage of people in families affected by pension reform that will not forgive him, and a portion of the Rhode Island population who do not like a woman at the bar," said Wendy Schiller , political scientist at Brown University.
Despite her hardship at home, Ms. Raimondo was highly respected by leaders of the National Democratic Party, which earned her admiration for her muscular fundraising network and her clear perspective on how Democrats should speak. employment and economic growth. She is vice-chair of the Democratic Governors Association, the party's national committee to elect state leaders.
The Republican candidate, Mr. Fung, nearly won the governor's race four years ago, less than 5 points behind Raimondo, a year when his party had made significant progress nationwide. This year, he criticized Ms. Raimondo for her approach to economic development and called for a stricter approach to the application of immigration legislation at the local level.
But Mr. Fung reacted bluntly to national controversies involving the White House and took a stand on a number of issues, including gun control, which could limit his support in a deep blue where Hillary Clinton Trump.
Mr. Trillo's presence in the race adds an important element of unpredictability to a state where third-party candidates have consistently received significant support and where former governor Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican senator who left the party, has been elected in 2010 as an independent.
Mr. Chafee, now a Democrat, endorsed Mr. Brown's main campaign in a reprimand against Ms. Raimondo, but failed to push him to the limit.
Alexander Burns reported from New York and Katharine Q. Seelye from Boston.
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