Democrat Seth Magaziner Wins Rhode Island's 2nd District, Narrowly

Rebecca Downs | November 08, 2022 10:30 PM

It was a valiant effort from Republican nominee Allan Fung to be the first Republican from Rhode Island sent to the House since 1992. He was running in the state's 2nd Congressional District, which had been a +14 district for President Joe Biden.

Ultimately, though, he came up short, as Democrat Seth Magaziner was declared the winner at 9:42pm. With 91 percent of the vote in, Magaziner has 50.18 percent, to Fung's 47.11 percent.

Decision Desk HQ projects Seth Magaziner (D) wins election to the U.S. House in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.#DecisionMade: 9:42pm EST

Watch our livestream: https://t.co/94KbTlttPz pic.twitter.com/RdGl9tnjz8
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 9, 2022

At some points, Fung led narrowly, but Magaziner ultimately pulled it off. The seat is currently held by Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), who announced in January that he was not running for reelection.

Fung served as the mayor of Cranston from 2009 to 2021. He also challenged Gina Raimondo in 2014 and 2018, who served as the state's Democratic governor until January 2021, when she left to serve in the Biden administration as the Secretary of Commerce.

This would be another significant hold for Dems, albeit in a pretty blue district. Republican Allan Fung had led multiple public polls and was heavily backed by national Rs.

Prominent Dems like Labor Sec. Marty Walsh had campaigned for Magaziner, the state's treasurer https://t.co/EfqvA2whqB
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) November 9, 2022

Given that Fung has held office in Rhode Island before and has run for several offices, perhaps he'll try again in the future. "Republicans love this guy," Bill Hemmer said on Fox News Channel on Tuesday night, acknowledging that this loss is "a big disappointment" for Republicans, although he and Brett Baier acknowledged that "it is Rhode Island." For now, at least, that state will remain blue.