Ex-NFL cheerleader battles former gubernatorial aide in tight GOP primary race

Elaine Pelino, a former NFL cheerleader and publisher pitching herself as the party-line choice, and Aaron Guckian, a former aide to former Gov. Donald Carcieri and a more centrist candidate are locked in a GOP primary that remained too close to call by early Thursday morning.

The race centered on experience and qualifications as Republicans hope they have found a candidate to win over a historically Democratic-leaning state.

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In the last election, Daniel McKee, the then-Democratic candidate and current governor of Rhode Island, beat out Republican challenger Ashley Kalus in a 57.9% to 38.9% victory.

Among other priorities in her campaign, Pelino promised to champion merit-based hiring, support law enforcement, immigration law and school choice."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.

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Before her time in politics, Pelino had a wide range of experience, working as a model, in media and even as a cheerleader for the Houston Oilers, the football team that would eventually become the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Later, in 2011, she founded Tigress magazine, which published 12 issues.

For his part, Guckian took a far more policy-centric approach, committing to overhaul Rhode Island’s permitting, improve service delivery and tighten use of the state’s revenue. He argued that the state’s budget growth had "gone too far."

"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."

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Once one of them has secured the primary, Pelino or Guckian will face an uphill battle in the Nov. 3 general election.