Patricia L. Morgan (born August 25, 1950) is an American politician and Republican member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing district 26 since 2021. She formerly represented district 26 from 2011 until 2019, where she chose not to run again. She became the first female minority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2017, after she was chosen by the Republican caucus members on November 15, 2016 when former minority leader

Brian Newberry Brian C. Newberry (born December 10, 1971) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing District 48 since January 2009. Education Newberry graduated from the University of Pennsylva ...

stepped down from the position. Morgan ran for

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

in the 2018 election. She lost the primary to Cranston Mayor and 2014 Republican candidate

Allan Fung Allan Wai-Ket Fung (born February 25, 1970) is an American attorney and politician who served as Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island from 2009 to 2021. He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Rhode Island in the 2014 and 2018 elections as we ...

. On October 4, Rhode Island House Republicans voted to remove Morgan from her position as House Minority Leader following her endorsement of independent candidate Joe Trillo, a former House colleague, for Governor over Fung.

Education

Morgan attended

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

, earned her BA degree from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

, her MEd from

Rhode Island College Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Providence, Rhode Island. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown Uni ...

, and principal's certificate from

Providence College Providence College is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, local diocese, it offers 47 undergradua ...

Controversies

Morgan complained on 28 December 2021 via Twitter that a friendship she had with an African American friend had become "hostile and unpleasant." Morgan largely attributed this hostility to efforts by teachers and the political left's support for

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is a cross-disciplinary examination, by social and civil-rights scholars and activists, of how laws, social and political movements, and media shape, and are shaped by, social conceptions of race and ethnicity. Goa ...

. Her tweet has been condemned by both Democrats and the GOP, and the BLM RI PAC, the political arm of the Black Lives Matter movement in Rhode Island, has called for her removal from committee assignments in the RI General Assembly.

Elections

*2004 To challenge District 26 incumbent Representative Murphy, Morgan was unopposed for the 2004 Republican Primary, but lost to the November 2, 2004 General election to Representative Murphy. *2010 When Democratic Representative William Murphy retired and left the seat open, Morgan was unopposed for the September 23, 2010 Republican Primary, winning with 220 votes and won the November 2, 2010 General election by 90 votes with 2,239 votes (51%) against Democratic nominee Michael Senerchia. *2012 Morgan was unopposed for the September 11, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 129 votes and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 2,849 votes (52.1%) against Democratic nominee Nicholas Denice. *2014 Morgan was unopposed for the September 9, 2014 Republican Primary, winning with 376 votes and won the November 4, 2014 General election with 2,104 votes (50.1%) against Democratic nominee Nicholas Denice who had 1,816 votes (43.2%) and Moderate Paul Caianiello, Jr. who had 275 votes (6.6%). *2016 Morgan was unopposed for the September 13, 2016 Republican Primary and won the November 8, 2016 General election with 3,192 votes (55.2%) against Democratic nominee Anthony J. Paolino who had 2,079 votes (35.9%) and

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Vincent Marzullo who had 504 votes (8.7%).

References

External links

Official page
at the Rhode Island General Assembly *
Patricia Morgan
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Patricia L. Morgan
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Patricia 1950 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Kent State University alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Mississippi State University alumni People from West Warwick, Rhode Island Place of birth missing (living people) Providence College alumni Rhode Island College alumni University of Rhode Island alumni Women state legislators in Rhode Island