Patricia L. Morgan[2] (born August 25, 1950) is an American politician and Republican member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives representing district 26 since 2021.[3] She formerly represented district 26 from 2011 until 2019, where she chose not to run again. She became the first female minority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2017, after she was chosen by the Republican caucus members on November 15, 2016, when former minority leader Brian Newberry stepped down from the position.[4]
In 2020, Morgan ran for the state House of Representatives again and unseated incumbent DemocratJames Jackson.[6] In 2024, she won the Republican primary for Rhode Island's Class IU.S. Senate seat, she lost the general election to Democratic incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse in a landslide.[7]
Early life
Morgan was one of three daughters of Thomas Lazar, a Polish-American World War II veteran, and Doris Lane, a war bride from England. They had married in 1944. In 1958, her father changed his surname to Lane because he'd been bullied as a child over his heritage and didn't want his daughters to suffer the same experience. She grew up in Canal Fulton, Ohio, the youngest of three daughters. She graduated class valedictorian from Northwest High School. She then married her boyfriend, Bernie Mulligan, who was a Navy aviator.[8]
After graduating from college, she worked as a special education teacher for several years. She moved to Rhode Island when her husband was stationed there in 1976. She resumed her teaching career in 1985. After a decade of teaching there, she joined the firm of Salomon Smith Barney as a financial advisor.[10]
Elections
2004 To challenge District 26 incumbent Representative Murphy, Morgan was unopposed for the 2004 Republican Primary, but lost to the November 2, 2004 General election to Representative Murphy.[11]
2010 When Democratic Representative William Murphy retired and left the seat open, Morgan was unopposed for the September 23, 2010 Republican Primary, winning with 220 votes[12] and won the November 2, 2010 General election by 90 votes with 2,239 votes (51%) against Democratic nominee Michael Senerchia.[13]
2012 Morgan was unopposed for the September 11, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 129 votes[14] and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 2,849 votes (52.1%) against Democratic nominee Nicholas Denice.[15]
2014 Morgan was unopposed for the September 9, 2014 Republican Primary, winning with 376 votes[16] and won the November 4, 2014 General election with 2,104 votes (50.1%) against Democratic nominee Nicholas Denice who had 1,816 votes (43.2%) and Moderate Paul Caianiello Jr. who had 275 votes (6.6%).[17]
2016 Morgan was unopposed for the September 13, 2016 Republican Primary and won the November 8, 2016 General election with 3,192 votes (55.2%) against Democratic nominee Anthony J. Paolino who had 2,079 votes (35.9%) and Independent Vincent Marzullo who had 504 votes (8.7%).[18]
Morgan complained on 28 December 2021 via Twitter that a friendship she had with an African American friend had become "hostile and unpleasant." Morgan largely attributed this hostility to efforts by teachers and the political left's support for critical race theory.[21][22][23] Her tweet has been condemned by both Democrats and the GOP, and the BLM RI PAC, the political arm of the Black Lives Matter movement in Rhode Island, has called for her removal from committee assignments in the RI General Assembly.[24]
^"State Representatives by District". State of Rhode Island Election Results. Rhode Island Board of Elections. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
