Matos beats Loughlin to win another term as Rhode Island lieutenant governor

Democratic Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos defeated Republican challenger John Loughlin to win reelection Tuesday, securing another four years in Rhode Island’s second-highest general office.

Matos, 52, received 185,483 votes, or 59.21%, compared with 185,483 votes, or just under 41%, for Loughlin, 67, according to unofficial preliminary results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections as of 9:09 p.m.

The victory lengthens Matos’ tenure in an office she has held since 2021, when appointed by Gov. Dan McKee after he exited the office himself to succeed then Gov. Gina Raimondo who departed to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce in President Joe Biden’s administration.

Matos was later elected to her first full term in 2022. She bested four other candidates in a competitive five-way Democratic primary in September before facing former Republican state representative Loughlin, a military veteran and talk radio host.

A standing room-only crowd at The Graduate in Providence erupted in cheers as Matos took the stage shortly after 9:30 p.m., flanked by family and supporters.

“Thank you Rhode Island,” she declared, addressing the crowd in Spanish. “This campaign was powered by labor and people. We knew all along this campaign was going to be an uphill battle but tonight we learned that hard work and all of those late nights really pay off.”

“It doesn’t matter how long you spend in elected office, or you spend in public office, you always feel like an outsider. But that’s OK. My campaign was built on the outsiders.”

Matos denounced federal immigration enforcement authorities for “terrorizing” people, while blasting Trump for federal policy overhauls restricting access to food assistance and healthcare for people in need.

“Gracias, gracias gracias,” she concluded.

She also thanked Loughlin for his service.

Loughlin gave his concession speech during a watch party at the Loom Hotel shortly before 9 p.m. 

“We did our best,” Loughlin said, noting some parental wisdom and his youthful years as an Eagle Scout growing up in Lincoln. “The outcome is not what we expected, but we did our best…We got a lot of serious problems to solve here in Rhode Island, and we wish [Matos] well.”

The race was close for most of its duration, with polls throughout the fall showing the candidates separated by narrow margins.

But two days before Election Day, a University of New Hampshire poll showed Matos leading Loughlin 56% to 41% among 753 likely voters surveyed from Oct. 27 to 31. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points.

An October poll by Salve Regina University’s Pell Center had Loughlin and Matos statistically tied, with Loughlin at 44% and Matos at 43%.

The new poll also lent insight into why people said they would vote for Matos. Of the survey respondents who said they were voting primarily for Matos — rather than against Loughlin — 68% claimed their support was based more on her party affiliation than Matos as a particular candidate.

Voters in the newest UNH poll were more familiar with Matos than Loughlin. But Matos’ Republican challenger had a positive net favorability rating while Matos had a negative net favorability rating.

On the campaign trail, the two candidates sparred over what the lieutenant governor should do with the limited powers afforded the office under the state Constitution. The lieutenant governor in Rhode Island holds less official powers than in other states, and their chief duty is taking over for the governor in case the governor is incapacitated.

A dispute over Loughlin’s financial disclosures also emerged in the final week of the election cycle.

Matos’ campaign filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Board of Elections on Oct. 29, alleging that Loughlin’s campaign manager had improperly benefited from publicly financed television advertising purchases, by “skimming” some of the commission costs attached to those purchases.

Loughlin denied the accusations and explained that advertising commissions had been reinvested in additional airtime and TV spots, rather than diverted to his campaign manager’s ad firm.

The complaint followed multiple amendments to Loughlin’s final final campaign finance report before election day, which ultimately listed $58,651 in expenditures for the reporting period ending Oct. 26.

Matos’ own campaign finance report from the period from Oct. 6 through Oct. 26 showed her outraising and outspending Loughline. Matos raised $48,202 in private contributions and spent $206,306, compared with $22,072 raised and $58,651 spent by Loughlin.

During this same period, Matos received $163,300 in public matching funds, compared with approximately $83,100 for Loughlin.

Senior Reporter Nancy Lavin contributed to this story.

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Courtesy of Rhode Island Current