Brandon Potter (politician)

Brandon Potter
Member of the
Rhode Island House of Representatives
from the 16th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 2021
Preceded byChristopher Millea
Personal details
Born (1984-08-06) August 6, 1984 (age 40)
Political partyDemocratic Party

Brandon Potter (born 6 August 1984) is an American politician who is state representative in the Rhode Island House of Representatives for the 16th district.[1] In the 2020 election, Potter primaried incumbent representative Christopher Millea, a close ally of speaker Nicholas Mattiello, with the support of the Working Families Party, winning the Democratic nomination.[2] After being unable to contact Millea, Potter was motivated to run for office when his girlfriend was removed from a kidney transplant waiting list, and the Herb Chambers car dealership he was working at was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Potter proceeded to defeat Republican Maryann Lancia in the general election by a margin of 585 votes.[1] He was endorsed by Bernie Sanders.[4]

Following the news that state Rep. Justin Price had attended the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Potter was the first elected official to publicly call for him to resign.[5]

A former member of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative, he was expelled from the group for supporting House Speaker Joe Shekarchi.[6] Potter later called the organization “toxic to the progressive movement” after the group faced criticism for targeting other progressives.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b Gregg, Katherine (November 19, 2020). "5 unsuccessful Republican candidates learn the fate of their challenges regarding the validity of the election". Providence Journal. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "RI Working Families Party wins 90% of primary elections". Uprise RI. Working Families Party. September 10, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Rock, Julia; August, Harry (October 26, 2020). "Progressive Democrats Sweep Rhode Island". The Nation. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Fenton, Josh. "National Progressive Leader U.S. Senator Sanders Endorses Group of RI Candidates". GoLocalProv. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  5. ^ "Rep. Price faces calls to resign after statements about Capitol attack". The Public's Radio. 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  6. ^ Gregg, Patrick Anderson and Katherine. "Shekarchi takes reins as House speaker as Assembly convenes". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  7. ^ "A progressive civil war is brewing in Rhode Island - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.


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