Former White House aide Gabe Amo becomes Rhode Island's first black Congressman

Gabe Amo, a former White House aide and the son of African immigrants, made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Black candidate elected to Congress from Rhode Island.

The 35-year-old Democrat won the race for the first congressional district seat, which was vacated by David Cicilline, a former Democratic representative who left this summer to lead the Rhode Island Foundation. Amo, who was born in Pawtucket, defeated Republican Gerry Leonard, a US Marine veteran who ran on a platform of opposing “Bidenomics” and supporting US aid to Ukraine.

Amo, who attended Wheaton College and Oxford University, worked in the Obama and Biden administrations, as well as for Gina Raimondo, then Democratic governor. He said he was motivated by the example of his parents, who came from Ghana and Liberia. His mother became a nurse and his father opened a liquor store.

“Just because my parents were born in two different West African countries, (it) doesn’t mean it doesn’t fit that narrative of how Rhode Island has been a haven for so many people from so many different places to thrive and build their families,” Amo said after his primary win.

Amo won the support of Patrick Kennedy, the former Democratic US representative, who represented the district from 1995 to 2011.

Amo said he would resist the Republican attempts to cut Social Security and Medicare. He also said he would work to protect abortion rights nationwide and to pass more federal legislation to address the climate crisis.

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He expressed his commitment to advocating for the prohibition of assault-style weapons, allocating funding for research on preventing gun violence at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and instituting universal background checks.

His victory represents a shift away from the state’s traditional Italian-American political establishment, which was epitomized by the late Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, the longtime Providence mayor who was convicted of corruption.

“I certainly believe I am part of a generational shift that has been underway before me,” Amo said.

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