David Morales ousts Providence mayor in Democratic primary

Rhode Island state Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, defeated Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in the Democratic primary, ending the incumbent’s bid for a second term and extending a run of progressive wins in local and state races across the country.

NBC News projected Smiley’s loss Tuesday night, while The Guardian reported Morales won the primary Wednesday night. Morales now becomes the favorite in November’s general election in the heavily Democratic city, where he will face Republican nominee David Talan, 77. If elected, Morales would become the youngest mayor in Providence history, The Guardian reported.

“Few believed that a 27-year-old democratic socialist could ever, few believed that we could ever take on big money, corporate real estate interests and endless attack ads – and we took them on and we won,” Morales said in a victory speech delivered partly in Spanish. “The same way that we campaigned, we are going to govern – in coalition, side by side with our neighbors.”

Morales campaigned on a progressive platform that included capping rent increases, expanding affordable housing and raising taxes on corporate polluters and landlords. During a debate organized by NBC affiliate WJAR last month, he framed the race around whether residents were better off than when Smiley took office.

“I’m running for mayor because I believe government can do so much more to make our lives easier,” Morales said. “We’re building a movement to have a Providence for all.”

Housing costs became a central issue. Smiley, who won the mayor’s office in 2022, vetoed a rent-stabilization ordinance in April after it was passed by the City Council, according to The Guardian. Morales called for a 4% annual cap on rent increases.

“When working people are getting priced out of the city that they love, then we must cap rent increases at 4% every single year,” Morales said. “We put housing justice on the ballot.”

Morales also pushed to make Providence an official sanctuary city and criticized President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. “The city of Providence must use every tool that we have at our disposal to defend our immigrant community and protect us from the fascist ICE agents,” he said in his victory speech.

Smiley pointed during the campaign to his record in office, including the expansion of a universal pre-K program and what he described as city successes. He also cited his opposition to Trump on immigration. But he faced scrutiny over implementing Providence’s largest property tax increase in a decade, according to The Guardian.

The incumbent sought to portray Morales as aligned with a national movement and insufficiently focused on local problem-solving. Smiley criticized Morales’ past support for reallocating police funding, arguing it showed he was soft on crime. Morales rejected that attack, accusing Smiley of “clinging on to quotes and tweets from over five years ago” and saying, “as our next mayor, I will not defund the police, a position that I have been very consistent on.”

Morales was endorsed by Sanders, the Democratic Socialists of America and former Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza, whose administration Smiley had worked in. The Guardian reported that Morales is the son of a Mexican immigrant single mother, was born in Soledad, California, became the youngest graduate in the history of Brown University’s public administration master’s program, and became the youngest Latino ever elected to a U.S. state legislature when he won a Rhode Island House seat at 22. He is also a part-time professional wrestler.

His win follows other victories by progressives aligned with the democratic socialist movement in places including New York City, Washington, D.C., Colorado, Michigan and Florida.