HISTORIC WIN

Ex-White House Aide Becomes Rhode Island’s First Black Congressman

“This is one of the last glass ceilings in Rhode Island to break,” said the Rhode Island Democratic Party’s executive director.

Gabe Amo, a former White House aide to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, made history Tuesday to become the first Black congressman from Rhode Island after a resounding election win. After carrying 64 percent of the vote with 86 percent of precincts reporting at 8:30 p.m., the Associated Press called the race. Amo is now officially in line to fill the seat of Rep. David Cicilline, a fellow Democrat who relinquished his seat in June to become president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. Amo, a 35-year-old native of Pawtucket who was born to Ghanaian immigrants, was most recently a special assistant to Biden and was the deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs from 2021 to earlier this year. He’s reportedly beloved inside the Biden Administration, with the president’s former chief of staff, Ron Klain, going as far as endorsing his campaign.