San Bento wins new term with support from just 7.5% of voters
September 18th, 2012 at 1:53 pm by Ted Nesi under Nesi's Notes, On the Main Site
Every vote counts – particularly when almost nobody casts one.
Longtime Pawtucket Rep. William San Bento appears to have eked out a victory in the tighter-than-tight House District 58 Democratic primary. Monday’s fourth recount – and fourth different result – gave him a one-vote lead over two-time candidate Carlos Tobon, 544 to 543.
At first glance, it looks like the people in District 58 are split right down the middle between San Bento supporters and Tobon supporters. But we can’t really say that, because only 1,087 of the 6,900 people who were eligible to vote last Tuesday actually cast a ballot – an anemic 15.8% turnout.
On top of that, the winner of the Democratic primary is running unopposed in November – two independents who pulled papers didn’t make the ballot – meaning last week’s election was the only time District 58 voters will get a choice this cycle. When you add in the 404 Republicans who couldn’t vote in the Democratic primary, just 7.5% of the district’s 7,304 voters will have chosen San Bento as its next representative.
Tags: campaign 2012, carlos tobon, general assembly, house district 58, pawtucket, politics, william san bento jr
Nesi's Notes covers politics and the economy in and around Rhode Island for WPRI.com. (Twitter: 
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