January 1, Former Cheerleader Battles Establishment Pick in Battle That Could Flip Blue State

Wyatt’s Take

• A former NFL cheerleader and media publisher is fighting a political insider in a Rhode Island GOP primary that’s too close to call — and it’s exactly the kind of shake-up voters are demanding
• One candidate is promising to get illegals out and support law enforcement; the other is talking budgets and bureaucracy — guess which one scares the establishment
• Rhode Island went for the Democrat by nearly 20 points last time, but fed-up voters might finally be ready to reject the party that’s bankrupted their state

Elaine Pelino, a former NFL cheerleader and publisher running as the conservative choice, is locked in a nail-biter primary against Aaron Guckian, a former gubernatorial aide with a more establishment-friendly approach. By early Thursday morning, the race remained too close to call.

The contest has centered on a familiar divide: grassroots energy versus insider credentials. Republicans believe they’ve finally found the formula to crack a state that Democrats have held hostage for decades.

In the last election, Democratic Governor Daniel McKee crushed Republican challenger Ashley Kalus, winning 57.9% to 38.9%. That’s the kind of margin that makes political consultants tell you to pack it up and go home.

But Pelino isn’t listening to consultants. Among her campaign priorities: championing merit-based hiring, backing law enforcement, enforcing immigration law, and supporting school choice — exactly the issues Washington elites pretend don’t matter to regular Americans.

“This is what I’m going to do. I’m learning. Everything is a learning [curve] because I’m not a lifetime politician. I’m here because I love Rhode Island. And I want them to have a great life. I want them to live in a prosperous and safe place. We should get all the illegals out of here,” Pelino said at a candidate forum.

Before entering politics, Pelino built a résumé that looks nothing like the typical career politician’s. She worked as a model, in media, and even as a cheerleader for the Houston Oilers, the football team that eventually became the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

In 2011, she founded Tigress magazine, which published 12 issues. That’s more businesses started than most state legislators have ever run.

Guckian, meanwhile, has taken a policy-wonk approach. He’s committed to overhauling Rhode Island’s permitting system, improving service delivery, and tightening control of state revenue.

He’s argued that the state’s budget growth has “gone too far” — and the numbers back him up.

“The state budget increased from $9.3 billion in 2019 to more than $14 billion between 2024 and 2026, nearly 50% growth in five years, even as federal COVID relief dollars are expiring,” Guckian said on his campaign website.

“Rhode Island made a critical mistake. We built permanent commitments on temporary federal money.”

That’s bureaucrat-speak for: Democrats spent like drunken sailors on free federal cash, and now Rhode Island taxpayers are stuck with the bill.

Once the primary is decided, the winner faces a steep climb in the November 3 general election. Rhode Island has been a Democratic stronghold for generations.

But with inflation crushing family budgets, crime surging in cities, and illegal immigration overwhelming communities, even blue states are starting to crack. Voters are tired of being told everything is fine when their own eyes tell them it’s not.

Why It Matters

Rhode Island families deserve a governor who’ll put citizens first — not political donors, not illegal immigrants, not woke ideologues. Whether it’s Pelino’s straight talk or Guckian’s fiscal focus, Republicans are offering something Democrats haven’t in years: accountability. That’s what happens when you stop taking voters for granted.