Carol Hagan McEntee Wins RI House Dist. 33 Special Election

The newest member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives is Carol Hagan McEntee.

The Democrat won the Tuesday special election for House District 33 on Tuesday, collecting a total of 877 votes in an election that was decided by less than 100 votes.

Republican Robert A. Trager got 789 votes, followed by independents James “Jamie” McKnight with 273 cotes and C. Elizabeth Candas with 232 votes, according to numbers on the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s office.

McEntee, a lawyer with a private practice, has been serving as a member of the South Kingstown Town Council and defeated the sister of Congressman David Cicilline, Susan Cicilline-Buonanno, in a hotly contested primary that revealed a few fissures in the state Democratic party.

While the House District 33 failed to garner much media attention outside of the local press, there was some last-minute controversy when a mailer attacking Trager included pictures of Tea Party protesters carrying offensive signs with one depicting a swastika.

The mailer was unsigned and anonymous — an apparent violation of state disclosure laws — and those who study the election results will wonder if the mailer played a role. Though Trager’s loss will be disappointing for the state GOP, which had hoped to add one more member to its ranks, they can take some solace in the race being so close in a part of the state that is notoriously liberal and difficult for Republicans to get elected.

McEntee has denied any involvement or connection to the mailer.

District 33 was vacated in March when longtime Democrat Rep. Donald J. Lally Jr. resigned to spend more time with his family.

The district encompasses parts of Narragansett and South Kingstown.