Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed prevailed against an aggressive challenge from Republican Mike Smith Tuesday, capturing 55 percent of the vote in Newport and Jamestown to win her 12th term as a state lawmaker.
Paiva Weed � labeled �out of touch� and �out of time� in one recent attack mailer � won despite strong local opposition to a plan to turn the Newport Grand slot parlor into a full-fledged casino.
Ultimately, the casino proposal failed in Newport, but Paiva Weed prevailed against Smith, who was making his first run for elected office.
Paiva Weed was one of more than 30 state lawmakers who fended off challengers Tuesday, while a much smaller number of incumbents � seven � appeared to have lost, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. There were also 65 House and Senate candidates who ran unopposed.
All told, Republicans appeared to pick up five seats in the House, boosting their total to 11 of 75 seats, and the chamber also picked up an independent. The GOP count remained unchanged in the Senate, where they will again hold five of 38 seats.
Among the incumbents who appeared to be headed to defeat was Rep. Peter Palumbo, D-Cranston, who found himself in the middle of a scandal this year after news reports that he bid on beach concession contracts, possibly in violation of state ethics rules.
Unofficial results showed Republican challenger Robert Lancia, a minister who has failed in past runs for public office, leading Palumbo with 52 percent of the vote, though the margin was only 222 votes.
While state ethics rules bar lawmakers from seeking state contracts, Palumbo was one of five bidders last year on five-year concession contracts at the Scarborough, Roger Wheeler and Misquamicut state beaches. He later withdrew, after the state told him he had submitted the best offer. The state then awarded the contracts to former state representative and then-state Democratic Party Chairman David Caprio, who turned around and hired Palumbo to manage the concession stands.
The matter is under investigation by the state police. Palumbo, a 20-year lawmaker, also faces an ethics complaint.
Also losing in the House were Democratic incumbents Linda Finn of Middletown, Lisa Tomasso of Coventry, Donna Walsh of Charlestown, Scott Guthrie of Coventry, and Larry Valencia of Richmond.
Finn, seeking her second term, fell to Republican Daniel Reilly, who lost to Finn in 2012 after serving one term. Reilly took 54 percent of the vote to Finn�s 46 percent.
Tomasso, seeking her third term, appeared to have lost to Republican Sherry Roberts, who captured 52 percent of the vote, though the margin was only 240 votes, according to unofficial results from Coventry and West Warwick.
Walsh, a former state senator and former member of the Charlestown Town Council, was seeking her fifth term in the House. She lost to independent Blake Filippi, who took 60 percent of the vote.
Guthrie, seeking his fourth consecutive term, lost to Republican challenger Robert Nardolillo, who garnered 64 percent of the vote.
Valencia, seeking his third term, was beaten by Republican Justin Price, who took 57 percent of the vote.
In Senate District 35, Democratic incumbent Catherine Cool Rumsey lost to Republican challenger Elaine Morgan, who earned 52 percent of the vote. The district covers portions of Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond and West Greenwich.
One of the more closely watched House races was in District 34 in Narragansett and South Kingstown, where Republican challenger Stephen Tetzner outspent Democratic incumbent Teresa Tanzi more than six to one. He lost nonetheless. According to unofficial results last night, Tanzi took 54 percent of the vote.
Tetzner, a real estate agent, spent more than $90,000 on the race, while Tanzi, seeking her third term, spent slightly more than $14,000, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.
Also closely watched was the race in House District 26, representing Coventry, Warwick and West Warwick. Incumbent Republican Patricia Morgan took 49 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Nicholas Denise and Moderate Paul P. Caianiello Jr.