Election day is Nov. 6. All Brown students who are not yet registered may do so on Election Day, but they will only be able to vote in the presidential race - state races are closed to new registrants.
R.I. Senate
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., met Republican challenger Barry Hinckley Jr. last night in their first of two debates. They will face off again next Saturday. The discussion covered unemployment, for which Whitehouse blamed former President George W. Bush. Hinckley attributed joblessness to the stifling effect of high taxes on the economy. The debate also touched on health care, the deficit and a number of other social topics. Both candidates are pro-choice and support marriage equality. But the two drew sharp contrasts on their initiatives for job creation. Whitehouse promoted investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, and Hinckley advocated significant tax cuts along the lines of former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan, which would lower the personal, corporate and capital gains tax to 9 percent. The two also disagreed on Obama's health care reform legislation - Whitehouse said he supports the law, but Hinckley said the law was unconstitutional, and he would vote to repeal much of it if elected.
R.I. House of Representatives
The race to represent the first congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives saw its third debate last night between Democrat Rep. David Cicilline '83, Republican Brendan Doherty and Independent David Vogel, who made his first appearance in the debates. Doherty's campaign accused Cicilline Tuesday of accepting around $12,000 from individuals involved in "strip clubs, topless bars and houses of prostitution that exploit women for profit," the Providence Journal reported. In a statement, Doherty contrasted his record fighting the loophole in state law that allowed prostitution to continue legally with Cicilline's acceptance of money from the sex industry, according to the Journal. The incumbent had his first public chance to respond to the Doherty campaign's allegations in the debate, calling the topic a "distraction." Cicilline, who held a six-point lead in two recent polls, will face Doherty in their final debate next Thursday.
