So many RI General Assembly seats are unopposed. But this Senate race is unusually crowded.

Editor’s note This is the second in a three-part series on state legislative races, chosen based on competitiveness between candidates and relevant district issues. Of the 113 seats in the Rhode Island General Assembly, all of which are elected every two years, 24 seats feature at least two candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot. 

A professional chauffeur, a clinical psychologist, a civil litigator, and a lead paint inspection company owner.

It’s not the beginning of a joke about an unlikely combination of people walking into a bar. It’s the list of candidates vying to represent Rhode Island’s Senate District 17, the only state legislative race with four names on the Nov. 3 ballot. “I find it interesting,” Republican Sen. Thomas Paolino said of the crowd of his challengers: Democrat Nelly Burdette and independents John Barr II and Jina Petrarca.

And unusual. Nearly 80% of legislative candidates are unopposed this year.

Thomas Paolino: A decade of experience on Smith Hill 

First elected in 2016, then as the youngest member of the General Assembly, Paolino, now 35, has always had at least one competitor on the general election ballot. But never three.

Yet he’s confident after a decade of experience on Smith Hill. He lists accomplishments such as bringing money to district schools, supporting creation of an inspector general’s office and mandating financial literacy proficiency for high school students.

Paolino also pointed to his work in support of healthcare reform, including co-sponsoring bills 2026 to regulate artificial intelligence in mental healthcare, and set up a preventive health state Medicaid pilot program.

If reelected, his priorities include removing surcharges from electricity bills related to state taxes and fees — he proposed funding the programs through the state budget instead — and “returning local control” on housing development to municipalities. He did not specify what measures he would propose on housing, or if that would include repealing existing state affordable housing mandates.

“My ideas come to fruition. You cannot deny that,” said Paolino, a licensed chauffeur and lifelong Lincoln resident.

Not according to his challengers, all of whom say they are frustrated with the lack of progress on healthcare, energy costs and economic growth.

Nelly Burdette: Backed by progressive group 

“I was waiting for someone else who was more of an entrenched politician to come in and navigate that process, and then I started to look around and realize there was no one who was going to do that,” said Burdette, 50, of Lincoln.

A first-time candidate and clinical psychologist, Burdette pointed to her professional experiences in mental healthcare and her personal background as a Ukrainian refugee and working mom of three children as her qualifications to represent the district.

“The experience of psychology has made me really very comfortable in sitting in different spaces, having different conversations, and actually inviting people in who disagree,” Burdette said.

Her platform centers on healthcare reforms, such as integrating mental health into primary care based on the model at Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island, where she works as chief clinical officer,  and creating a state-administered, single-payer healthcare system, akin to legislation under review in Massachusetts. 

Burdette criticized Paolino for missing eight out of nine meetings of a Senate panel charged with studying primary care workforce solutions, including a new medical school at the University of Rhode Island. Paolino only attended the final meeting in January. He cited work conflicts, but said he read all of the relevant material to stay informed on the commission’s progress.

Backed by the Rhode Island Working Families Party, Burdette said she believes in “progressive principles,” including the millionaire’s tax. But she stopped short of identifying as a progressive, also emphasizing her ability to work with people whose views differ from hers.

Burdette distinguished herself as the candidate who can most relate to the affordability struggles of her community. Unlike the two independent candidates on the ballot, Burdette said she cannot afford to self-fund her campaign.

Burdette had just over $4,500 in her campaign account as of Oct. 5, mostly from individual donors plus $1,000 from political action committees representing various unions that have endorsed her.

Petrarca donated $30,000 of her own money to her campaign, according to her campaign finance report. Barr loaned $2,000 to his campaign, and has not raised money from other donors. 

Paolino also has more than $23,000 in outstanding loans from campaigns dating back to 2016.

Jina Petrarca: Working with all sides

Petrarca, 50, a civil litigator with her own law firm in Cranston, has pledged to forgo the $20,922 salary and health insurance benefits that come with the state job, if elected.

Yet Petrarca said she, too, understands the cost concerns of constituents, noting her volunteer work with a food pantry that helps primarily working families.

A self-described conservative Democrat, Petrarca ran as a Democrat for the same Senate seat in 2016, losing to Paolino by less than 2 points.

Petrarca said she has gone back and forth between identifying as a Democrat and independent over the last decade, ultimately concluding there was “too much noise” in both parties.

Yet she was confident she could work with both parties in the Rhode Island General Assembly to get things done.

“I’ve spent 26 years getting unhappy people to the table and making them compromise,” Petrarca said, referring to her job as a civil litigator.

On her agenda: eliminating the corporate tax and expanding tax relief for seniors.

The mom of two college-aged children, Petrarca also called for education reforms including more autonomy for teachers and more state funding for students with special educational needs.

John Barr: Seeks to return to State House

Barr, 62, who owns a lead inspection business, served as a Democratic state representative for 10 years starting in 1990, helping secure a share of lottery revenue from Bally’s Twin River for the town of Lincoln and formally enshrine coffee milk in state law as the official state drink.

Nearly 40 years after he was first elected, the father of four and soon-to-be-grandfather he said he has more experience, and more time, to build on his past accomplishments.

“I am basically retired, but I still have all my mental faculties, I still have the energy, and I have time on my hands,” Barr said. “I look at how diverse the political landscape is and I know how to navigate it.”

Barr denounced the state’s $15.2 billion budget bottom line, suggesting a 5% cut across all departments.

Barr also called for energy reforms, including extending the 2033 deadline for the state’s 100% renewable electricity deadline by at least 10 years, and setting up long-term plans to deal with solid waste management and limited water supplies.

Barr criticized Paolino for “getting nothing done,” during his time in office, and for nonsubstantive campaign materials.

“Reading his literature, it’s like reading philosophy from Immanuel Kant,” Barr said. 

Paolino rejected Barr’s claims, noting that as a member of the minority party, some of his initiatives end up passing with Democratic sponsorship.

How they compare on issues, governor’s race

Like Paolino, Petrarca and Barr opposed the ban on the sale of assault-style weapons that passed in 2025. Burdette supported the law. 

All three challengers said they would have voted in favor of the three-year charter school moratorium approved at the end of the 2026 session. Paolino voted against it.

In the governor’s race Burdette is backing Democratic nominee Helena Buonanno Foulkes, while Petrarca is supporting independent Ken Block. Barr had not decided and Paolino declined to say.

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Courtesy of Rhode Island Current