Joseph M. McNamara (born September 7, 1950 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

) is an American politician and a Democratic 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 ...

representing District 19 since January 2003. McNamara served consecutively from January 1995 until January 2003 in the District 29 seat.

Education

McNamara earned his BS from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

and his MEd from Providence College.

Elections

* 1994 When District 29 Democratic Representative

James 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 firs ...

ran for

Secretary of State of Rhode Island The secretary of state of Rhode Island is an elected office in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of 2015, the current secretary of state is Nellie Gorbea. The Rhode Island Department of State or is composed of five separate divisions: *The Ele ...

and left the seat open, McNamara won the three-way September 13, 1994 Democratic Primary and won the November 8, 1994 General election with 2,802 votes (66.1%) against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Ernest Young. * 1996 McNamara was unopposed for the September 10, 1996 Democratic Primary, winning with 766 votes and won the November 5, 1996 General election with 2,952 votes (79.7%) against

Cool Moose Party Robert J. Healey Jr. (May 3, 1957 – March 20, 2016) was an American attorney, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder of Rhode Island's Cool Moose Party, the state's third-largest political party from 1994 until 2002, and was a ...

candidate Nancy Thompson, one of his Democratic Primary opponents from 1994. * 1998 McNamara and returning challenger Nancy Thompson both won their September 15, 1998 primaries, setting up a rematch; McNamara won the November 3, 1998 General election with 2,730 votes (77.7%) against Thompson. * 2000 McNamara was unopposed for the September 12, 2000 Democratic Primary, winning with 1,095 votes and won the November 7, 2000 General election with 3,321 votes (70.2%) against Republican nominee Paul Cannistra. * 2002 Redistricted to District 19, and with incumbent Representative Aisha Abdullah-Odiase leaving the Legislature, McNamara and returning 2000 Republican challenger Paul Cannistra were both unopposed for their September 10, 2002 primaries, setting up a rematch; McNamara won the three-way November 5, 2002 General election with 3,090 votes (56.1%) against Cannistra and former state Senator Edward Lawrence, running as an

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 ...

. * 2004 McNamara was unopposed for both the September 14, 2004 Democratic Primary, winning with 347 votes and the November 2, 2004 General election, winning with 4,912 votes. * 2006 McNamara was unopposed for both the September 12, 2006 Democratic Primary, winning with 1,047 votes and the November 7, 2006 General election, winning with 5,098 votes. * 2008 McNamara was unopposed for the September 9, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 530 votes and won the November 4, 2008 General election with 4,598 votes (68.7%) against Republican nominee Robert Paquin. * 2010 McNamara was unopposed for the September 23, 2010 Democratic Primary, winning with 928 votes, and won the three-way November 2, 2010 General election with 3,309 votes (59.7%) against Republican nominee Maureen O'Gorman and Moderate candidate Anthony Dubois. * 2012 McNamara was unopposed for both the September 11, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 1,258 votes and the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 5,546 votes. * In 2014, McNamara was elected chair of the

Rhode Island Democratic Party The Rhode Island Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Joseph McNamara is the chair of the party. The party has dominated politics in Rhode Island for the past five decades. Democratic Pa ...

, succeeding

Grace Diaz Grace Diaz (born February 21, 1957) is an American politician who is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic State Representative from Rhode Island representing District 11 in the city of Providence, Rhode Island. She was the first Dominica ...

http://wpri.com/2014/10/09/mcnamara-elected-ri-democratic-party-chair/ McNamara announced Rhode Island's votes in the roll call at the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

where he also promoted the state's seafood industry.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

*
Joseph McNamara
at Ballotpedia
Joseph McNamara
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics {{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Joseph 1950 births 21st-century American politicians Boston University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island Providence College alumni State political party chairs of Rhode Island