Robert "Bob" Lancia (born November 24, 1953) is an American politician, former educator, and former

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

chaplain. From 2015 to 2018, he served as a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected ...

, serving the 16th district, which included portions of

Providence County Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state cap ...

. A self-described "

libertarian Republican In American politics, a Libertarian Republican is a politician or Republican Party member who has advocated Libertarian policies while typically voting for and being involved with the Republican Party. Beliefs and size The Republican Party has ...

”, Lancia announced in 2022 that he would run for the United States House of Representatives in

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in southern and western Rhode Island. The district is currently represented by Democrat James Langevin, who has represented the district since January 2001. Composition T ...

Early life and education

Robert Lancia was born on November 24, 1953, in

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island ...

. He graduated from Rhode Island College and Andover Newton Theological School.

Career

Lancia joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a chaplain, being deployed to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and the Caribbean, before eventually becoming the head chaplain of

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilming ...

in North Carolina. He retired from the military in 2004. Lancia is a former elementary school teacher, and holds a Master's of Education. In 2014, Lancia was elected to serve District 16 in the

. He was reelected in 2016, but was defeated in 2018 by Christopher Millea. Lancia ran against incumbent Democrat

Jim Langevin James R. Langevin ( ; born April 22, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Langevin was appointed to be the first ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

and lost the election. In March 2021, Lancia announced on WPRO radio that he was running for Congress once again in 2022.

Political positions

Abortion

When asked about

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, Lancia said "I have been asked many times on

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

and I've said I consider that to be settled law, but when we went to this 40-week bill, they lost me."

Conspiracy theories

In the run-up to his 2020 campaign, the Twitter account for Lancia's campaign retweeted two tweets promoting the

QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...

conspiracy theory. When asked in an interview with

WNPN WNPN (89.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an NPR news/talk format. It is the flagship broadcast outlet for The Public's Radio (formerly known as Rhode Island Public Radio). Its official community of license is Newport, Rhode Island, but fro ...

, Lancia denied having any knowledge of QAnon and suggested that the staffer running the account retweeted the tweets because "probably it was attached to something else - maybe something to do with the president".

Education

Lancia is an advocate of providing school choice to students "who can't get their needs met in a government run school."

Gun rights

When asked about the

2nd Amendment The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms. It was ratified on December 15, 1791, along with nine other articles of the Bill of Rights. In ''District of Columbia v. Helle ...

, Lancia said "I am a Second Amendment guy. But I am also a chaplain and have never shot a gun in my life."

Healthcare

Lancia stated that he thought minority communities have been affected the most by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and that those communities should always have proper medical facilities and personnel. Lancia called for policies and programs to encourage physicians to develop their own business models, particularly in the nation's inner cities.

Recreation

Lancia has proposed that there should be no fees to enter state beaches.

Term limits

Lancia advocates for term limits at the federal level.

Personal life

Lancia is married to Maryann Mulcahy, and they have three children. The couple live in Cranston. Lancia has founded numerous midnight basketball leagues, and also founded a basketball clinic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancia, Robert 1953 births Living people Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives People from Cranston, Rhode Island Rhode Island College alumni 21st-century American legislators Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections