Rhode Island’s Senate Democrats are backing Sen. Dominick Ruggerio to remain as chamber president.
The Providence Democrat earned 24 votes from his Democratic colleagues during a caucus Friday at a city hotel, while his challenger, Sen. Gayle Goldin, got seven votes.
Sen. Michael McCaffrey, of Warwick, also got the backing to remain majority leader by the same 24-7 margin over Sen.-elect Jeanine Calkin, also of Warwick.
The Senate will formally vote on the Senate president when the chamber returns to session in January.
Ruggerio and McCaffrey both said they remain open to the legalization of recreational marijuana use in the state.
“I’ve had some concerns in the past about the social costs that exist with that, but we’re in a tough situation as far as our revenue is concerned,” Ruggerio said.
The state House will have a new speaker after Nicholas Mattiello lost reelection on Tuesday to Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung. The House Democrats picked Majority Leader Joe Shekarchi to succeed Mattiello in January.
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