NewsNovo
Rhode Island state representative David Morales, 27, backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, defeated one-term Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in Wednesday's Democratic primary by roughly 8 percentage points, 54% to 46%.
The victory positions Morales, a democratic socialist, as the heavy favorite in November given the city's partisan composition.
The risk is that a primary mandate on rent control and sanctuary policy is easier to win than it is to govern.
The mandate and what's behind it Morales ran on capping annual rent increases at 4% and expanding affordable housing, with additional commitments to raise taxes on corporate landlords and polluters and to defend Providence's sanctuary city status for undocumented immigrants.
Keep reading