Mark Weiner, Rhode Island Democratic Leader, Dies in Newport

Rhode Island Democratic leader, prominent party fundraiser and friend of the Clintons Mark Weiner has reportedly passed away.

The Providence Journal confirmed rumors of Weiner's death Tuesday morning, as he prepared to leave Newport for the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Weiner has for decades been a prominent Democratic fundraiser and a fixture in Rhode Island politics, serving as a state super-delegate and party leader. He was the owner of Cranston-based Financial Innovations, which produces political "swag," from T-shirts to mugs for the Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign, among other political campaigns and advocacy groups.

In an April interview, former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr. told Rhode Island Public Radio that Weiner first met Hillary Clinton while campaigning for then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in Indiana, where he interned for her at age 22.

He has stayed close with the couple since, Paolino said.

“Mark and I have been best friends since we were freshmen at LaSalle Academy,” Paolino told the radio station in April. “We both had the same passion of politics and public service, and we’ve been involved in a lot of the same candidates together.”

Weiner hosted Hillary Clinton at his East Greenwich home for a fundraiser in 2015. It is considered the most Republican town in Rhode Island.

Paolino confirmed Weiner's passing to the Journal Tuesday, telling the paper Weiner had leukemia but that he was unsure whether that caused his death.