After winning the nomination for Senate District 29 in 2022, Jennifer Rourke is looking to secure the Democratic nomination once again.

Rourke, who calls herself an “independent Democrat,” will be running in the party’s primary against Peter Appollonio Jr. The winner will likely face incumbent Republican Anthony DeLuca, who defeated Rourke in the 2022 general election, though he has yet to officially announce reelection plans.

This is Rourke’s fourth run for the seat overall, as she unsuccessfully primaried then-Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey in 2018 and 2020.

Originally from Springfield, Mass., Rourke moved to Warwick in 2015 with her husband Thomas and her children, Valentino, Farris, Jameson and Grayson. Rourke said her background - growing up poor in a different state - is one of an outsider, and due to that, has helped her come up with new ideas and perspectives for the district.

“I see it from, I’m not one of those ‘haves,’ I’ve always been a ‘have not,’” Rourke said. “I think that’s something that a lot of people miss out on.”

Rourke said that her initial inspiration to run for public office came from Valentino, her oldest son.

“He came out to myself and my husband, and what he said was ‘Mom, if I don’t have a family that happens naturally, certain states are going to block me. So, what are you going to do to fix it?’” Rourke said. “And being a mom, I was like, oh my God, I’ve got to do something. And then he introduced me to Senator Jeanine Calkin, and that’s all she wrote. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Since then, Rourke said her family has continued to inspire her. Grayson, her youngest son, was recently diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, and Rourke described the journey to get him assessed by a doctor as an emotional one.

Policy-wise, Rourke said that her top priorities include climate initiatives and increasing the amount of low-income housing in Warwick.

“When we think of low-income housing, there’s been such a stigma around it,” Rourke said. “But low-income housing is for your grandparents who are living on a steady income of SSI or SSDI or their Social Security pension. It’s the single parents who are struggling and working three jobs who are just trying to find a roof over their heads. It’s people like my friend Ryan, who is an unhoused person on disability and can’t find housing because he has to have a certain amount of money, and he can’t work because he can’t make more than $1,400 a month.”

Rourke said her campaign would also focus on funding for education and the economy.

“There are working class folks that are really struggling, and if you don’t understand that, then maybe you shouldn’t be in office and maybe you shouldn’t run for office,” Rourke said. “My neighbors are struggling, and I’m doing everything I can to help.”

Rourke is the executive director of Nora’s Haven, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual assault survivors, which she officially founded in May of 2023. Rourke herself is a survivor of domestic violence.

She said she would hold fundraisers for her campaign in the coming months, though she has no immediate plans. What she has promised not to do, however, is take money from lobbyists.

“I feel like when you start inviting the lobbyists into the conversation, then what you’re really fighting for changes,” Rourke said. “I don’t want to feel like I owe a lobbyist something, I want to feel like I owe the people of Warwick something.”

Rourke is a co-founder of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative (RIPC), a progressive group that has drawn the ire of some moderate Democrats in the state. Some prominent Rhode Island Democratic figures campaigned against Rourke in the 2022 general election, which she considered to be a bitter takeaway from the campaign.

Rourke said that the possibility that something similar happens this year is concerning to her. However, she said that would not deter her from taking another shot at running for the Senate.

“I’m not going to give up,” Rourke said. “I’m going to give it my all. I’m just your regular neighbor trying to make a change.”