Spiratos Suspends Campaign to Topple RI Senate President

NEWPORT, RI—Anthony Spiratos launched his campaign for the seat in Rhode Island’s Senate Dist. 13 last March, promising to give Senate President Teresa Pavia Weed a strong challenge.

On Monday, Spiratos, a real estate developer, announced that he was suspending his campaign because he wanted to “give enough time to someone who can devote the time that will be necessary to win.”

Spiratos made the announcement in a Facebook post thanking his supporters and promising “to stay active and engaged in the community which I love.”

The 32-year-old said that his first run for office in 2002 was a time when he was not in business yet and he could devote 100 percent of his time to campaigning.

“As my company continues to surge to new heights it takes more and more administrative time on my part to see that it continues to be successful and unfortunately leaves me with less time to devote to outside causes,” he said.

Rhode Island’s Senate Dist. 13 encompasses Jamestown and Newport and has been represented by Paiva Weed since 2009. Spiratos faced a tough challenge unseating the incumbent, who has indicated she’d like to retain the Senate presidency for another year. While Paiva Weed is a frequent target due to her ranking at the State House, she is highly regarded in her district and enjoys strong support.

She defeated challenger Michael W. Smith by a 10 percentage point margin in 2014, or 930 votes in a contest that garnered 9,304 votes overall.

Still, a strong GOP challenger could make waves in the district after Paiva Weed’s support of the RhodeWorks legislation, which paves the way for the state to begin tolling large trucks to fund bridge and road repairs. State Republicans are eager to see exactly how much the public’s vocal toll opposition all winter translates into votes this November.