In Blue Rhode Island, Why Is Governor Race Close?

Rhode Island is one of the bluest states in the country. In 2012 President Obama won there with nearly two-thirds of the vote, and the state’s entire congressional delegation is Democratic. Democrats dominate down the ballot, holding over 80 percent of the seats in both houses of the legislature.

Despite this Democratic ascendancy in the state, Republican gubernatorial candidate Allan Fung has kept the contest with Democratic opponent Gina Raimondo relatively close, trailing by just four percentage points in the RCP polling average. (A Brown University survey released Tuesday shows a much tighter race, with Raimondo ahead by a much narrower margin, 38 percent-37 percent, with third-party candidate Bob Healey at 12 percent.) This raises an obvious question: How has Fung done so well? 

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