Seveney, Pagliarini Win Dist. 11 Primaries

The results are in and Rhode Island Senate District 11 voters have picked Democrat James Seveney and Republican John Pagliarni Jr. in a special primary on Tuesday.

Seveney, a member of the Portsmouth Town Council, won handily, securing 693 votes to win the Democratic primary with 68 percent of the vote. Amy Rice finished with 204 votes and Brett Pelletier ended up with 115.

In the Republican primary, Pagliarini finished with 256 votes, or 51 percent, followed by Ken Mendonca with 161 votes and Joan Chabot with 85.

Seveney and Pagliarini will run against Independent Greg Blythe in a Jan. 5 special election.

The senate seat, which covers portions of Portsmouth, Tiverton and Bristol, opened up after former Sen. Christopher Ottiano vacated the seat in October after accepting demanding job at Neighborhood Health Plan. The former senator has endorsed Seveney, citing his experience working with the councilman on issues affecting the East Bay and Portsmouth.

The numbers reported by local Boards of Canvassers Tuesday night are not official and final tallies could change after mail ballots are counted. It is highly unlikely that the final results will change, however.

Photo courtesy: Jim Seveney