June 23, 2026

As Rhode Island prepares for a potential generational transition across all three branches of state government, the Rhode Island Working Families Party today endorsed four candidates for state office who represent a bold, affordability-focused vision for state government, issuing a clear message to the new Democratic leaders taking power in Providence: working families need fighters, not caution.

The endorsed candidates are running for State Senate and State House in communities stretching from Providence to Pawtucket to Woonsocket to Lincoln. They are nurses, psychologists, social workers, community organizers, first-generation immigrants and people who have relied on the same government programs their constituents depend on. The WFP slate is running on a shared vision of a Rhode Island where working families can afford to stay in the neighborhoods they grew up in, where healthcare is a right and not a privilege, and where a full-time job pays enough to actually live on.

"Rhode Island's new leaders have a real opportunity to govern differently — to build a state where working families don't just survive, but thrive," said Anusha Venkataraman, RIWFP State Director. "The candidates we are endorsing today are the next generation of leadership that makes that vision real. They are nurses who have watched patients lose their health care, social workers who have served families in crisis, and organizers who have spent years fighting for the communities Washington is now abandoning. They are not running to manage the status quo. They are running to change it — and we believe they are exactly who Rhode Island needs at this moment."

The candidates — among them a Ukrainian refugee, a Dominican American veteran and a Native American social worker — reflect the multiracial working class communities they seek to represent.

The endorsements come at a pivotal moment for Rhode Island. As the Trump administration slashes Medicaid, threatens housing assistance, attacks workers' rights, and targets immigrant communities, Rhode Island's state and local governments face continued and mounting pressure to step into the breach — or leave working families to fend for themselves. The Rhode Island Working Families Party is endorsing candidates who have made clear they will fight back and show up for their communities.

The endorsed slate:

• Nelly Burdette – State Senate, District 17 (Lincoln, North Providence, North Smithfield)

• Amy Santiago – State House, District 7 (Providence)

• Gena Felix – State Senate, District 8 (Pawtucket)

• Veronicka Vega – State House, District 49 (Woonsocket)

Gena Felix, a Pawtucket native, nurse and daughter of Dominican immigrants running to challenge a politically-appointed incumbent in Pawtucket's Senate District 8, said she is running to deliver the Rhode Island her community has long been promised but never received. "I am running because I believe in a Rhode Island where no family has to choose between paying rent and seeing a doctor. Where workers are paid enough to live with dignity. Where communities like Pawtucket — that have given so much and gotten so little back — finally have a fighter in the State Senate who knows their lives and will not stop until government works for them."

Nelly Burdette, a clinical psychologist and first-generation immigrant from Ukraine, is running to flip a Republican-held Senate seat in District 17. Dr. Burdette said that Rhode Island's next generation of leadership must be willing to match the scale of the challenges facing working families. "I've spent my career helping people navigate challenges that government policies too often make harder instead of easier. I'm running because Rhode Island families deserve affordable healthcare, stable housing, and leaders who are focused on solving problems. I believe our communities are ready for a new generation of leadership that listens, works hard, and delivers results." If elected, Dr. Burdette would become the first woman to represent District 17 in the Rhode Island Senate and the first psychologist elected to the Rhode Island Senate.

Amy Santiago is challenging incumbent Ward 5 City Councilor Jo-Ann Ryan in the Democratic primary. A Kanien'kehá:ka and Puerto Rican woman, working-class mother, educator, and social worker, Santiago has spent ten years working directly with people experiencing homelessness, including opening a shelter and transitional house for women in Providence, and is also a person in long-term recovery. Running on public housing and rent stabilization, universal single-payer healthcare, and a luxury tax, she believes that the government should fight for working people rather than wealthy special interests.

Veronicka Vega is running for State Representative in Rhode Island's District 49, the most diverse district in Woonsocket and one that has never been represented by a person of color. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University’s Public Health program, Vega has worked in municipal policy as well as hourly retail work, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration at Roger Williams University. After her family experienced homelessness, Vega relied on SNAP, Medicaid, and other public programs that helped her become the first in her family to earn a college degree. As those same programs come under threat from the Trump administration, she's running to protect them for the next family that needs them. 

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