Republican Blake Filippi is the recently elected Rhode Island House Minority Leader, leading a caucus that has less than 15% of House membership in an overwhelming Democratically controlled lower chamber.
Following an election cycle that saw Rhode Island Republicans fail to mount any serious challenges for statewide offices, and with the national Republican brand soured by the antics of President Donald Trump, I sat down with Representative Filippi, an attorney and organic cattle farmer who represents Block Island and portions of South County, to gain an understanding of who the Rhode Island Republican party is and where it might be headed.
Does he believes the party can appeal to a larger swath of Rhode Island voters that may be seeking to preserve some their socially liberal values, but have a desire for fiscal restraint or increased opposition and debate within state government?
And as Minority leader, how will his own socially-liberal, fiscally conservative viewpoints impact his decision making process and the coalitions he seeks to establish in the House with fellow Republicans, traditional Democrats and also progressive Democrats, who recently established themselves as the Reform Caucus.