NEWS

GOP candidate for Congress makes bid official

By RAYMOND BACCARI
Posted 4/18/24

Dr. Steven Corvi officially kicked off his campaign as a Republican candidate for Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District Saturday at Rocky Point.

“Foundational goal of my …

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NEWS

GOP candidate for Congress makes bid official

Posted

Dr. Steven Corvi officially kicked off his campaign as a Republican candidate for Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District Saturday at Rocky Point.

“Foundational goal of my campaign is to restore merit, equality and transparency to America,” Corvi said. “And what does that mean? Well, these are big words, easy to say, but it’s to replace the problems of the echo chamber of the DEI environment that we have.”

A Warwick resident, Corvi explains the merit portion of his platform is “based on what you can do, who you are as a person irregardless of your background or your education or anything – but you’re based on your abilities and skills.”

Similar to what he said in an initial interview about his candidacy, he says the equality portion is not equity.

He said, “True equality is to be basing people on the same skills, levels and same everything in life rather than trying to bring one group up to another.”

As for transparency, Corvi said, “Well that’s pretty easy.”

“Unfortunately, politicians in Washington are not very transparent and the reason for that is obvious conflict of interest because most people that are in politics are not in it for the greater good of people, they’re in it for themselves,” added Corvi.

He also emphasized he’s “not a seasoned politician,” which is a major point he plans to focus on throughout the race.

“Many of today’s politicians, national and local, are part of a wealthy elite who are frankly out of touch with reality,” Corvi said. “And sometimes you can say it’s like Rain Man with a candy bar, pull one of them aside and ask them how much a gallon of milk is or how much eggs are or what’s going up in price or the upcoming coffee problems that we’re going to have where coffee is going to be expensive. They wouldn’t know this because it’s not reality in their life.”

Other policy goals Corvi highlighted during his speech included addressing the cost of living and implementing a merit-based immigration system.

The kickoff event took place at the Rocky Point arch. Corvi was joined by current and former students of his from Bentley University, some of whom are working on his campaign including Max Provencher, his campaign manager, and Raine Spearman, a friend of Provencher’s.

Corvi, an adjunct professor who teaches history, recently moved to Rhode Island, purchasing a house in Warwick two years ago. Colleges he has worked for include Bentley, Northeastern University, his alma mater where he earned a Ph.D. in 2004, and The United States Naval War College.

Corvi also considers himself a moderate Republican.

“I’m not against Trump,” Corvi said in an interview earlier this month when asked if he’d back former President Donald Trump, the GOP’s presumptive nominee, for this year’s presidential race. “My choice, right now, between the two, I’m pro-Trump because Biden is ineffectual and represents complete corruption. That’s a no-brainer. Am I all on board with the red hat and everything he says? No.”

As for what’s next, Provencher said Sunday, “Our principal focus will be fundraising for the foreseeable future. While we plan to run a lean and grassroots campaign, fundraising will be critical to gain name recognition and staffing.”

Corvi said during the interview from earlier this month that conversations with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) have gone “good.”

He added that the fundraising threshold the NRCC wants to see him raise before they put resources into this race is around $300,000-$400,000.

“Yes that is our initial goal for the intermediate term,” Provencher said when asked about this conversation the campaign had with the NRCC. “The number isn’t firm but somewhere in that range.

“Also about momentum, earned media, and district trends,” Provencher added. “[The] NRCC liked this race in 2022, and we need to prove to them it’s still a competitive district. Magaziner has more money and we likely won’t be able to eclipse him in the near term, as a result we plan to spend our money more efficiently and in a differentiated way.”

Provencher says that future events on the campaign include attending as many local GOP committee meetings as possible and “work with Republican candidates across the state over the coming months.”

“We will continue to connect with voters throughout our district over the next 205 days and ramp things up into the Summer,” he added.

One GOP candidate who was present was Raymond McKay, who is running for U.S. Senate this year.

On the Democratic side, U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner will likely face no serious opposition in a primary. Magaziner confirmed earlier this month he will seek reelection.

 

Corvi, election

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