Challenger Jessica Drew-Day, left, and incumbent Joe Powers, right, share many characteristics but different perspectives on their contributions to the Rhode Island Republican Party, which they are both running to lead. (Left photo by Laura Paton/Rhode Island Current; right photo via Joe Powers Facebook page)
Joe Powers and Jessica Drew-Day have a lot in common.
They’re parents, spouses, small-business owners, former legislative candidates and passionate Republicans who want to break Democrats’ grip on their native state.
But the former partners — elected as chair and first vice chair of the Rhode Island GOP in 2023 — are now rivals, competing for the top, unpaid position with the state’s Republican Party. It’s the first time a challenger has attempted to unseat an incumbent GOP chair in the biennial party elections in 30 years, according to Steve Frias, former GOP national committeeman.
Powers, 54, a Cranston business consultant elected as party chair in 2023, pointed to his success with the Republican National Committee (RNC) as evidence of his ability to network and bolster the state’s small but growing Republican presence. Drew-Day, 48, a South Kingstown video production company owner, counters that a grassroots approach focused on hyperlocal races and issues offers a better path to power for Rhode Island Republicans.
Roughly 200 state Republicans will decide who they want to lead their party at their central committee convention Saturday at The Event Factory in Warwick.
The election is more than just a power struggle; it helps determine how well Rhode Island Republicans can capitalize on the right wave that swept the nation in the 2024 elections, said Adam Myers, a political science professor at Providence College.
“This is not a red state, and it’s not going to become a red state anytime soon, but clearly, the Rhode Island Republican Party has room for growth,” Myers said.
More than 40% of state registered voters backed Donald Trump in 2024 —- the highest support for a Republican presidential candidate since George H. W. Bush was elected in 1988. Even traditional Democratic strongholds like Pawtucket and Central Falls saw margins shrink in favor of Trump in 2024, suggesting that there’s opportunity for Republicans to make inroads with urban and Latino voters, Myers said.
‘We have a seat at the table right now’
Powers is laser-focused on D.C, where for the last year he has enjoyed special access to RNC Chair Michael Whatley as a member of Whatley’s informal group of senior advisors.
“We have a seat at the table right now that Rhode Island has never had in the past,” Powers said. “With Donald Trump taking the White House, and this huge surge in Rhode Island for Trump, we are going to start seeing benefits coming from this national reach. It’s going to pay off in dividends.”
Powers did not specify what the payoff will be.
Drew-Day has publicly criticized Powers for not focusing his time and attention on recruiting and supporting candidates for local offices.
“He is based on the idea of ‘Trump is going to come in and save the day,’” Drew-Day said of Powers. “I don’t believe in that. I believe in a grassroots approach.”
Drew-Day’s political activism was born out of frustration with the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic for small business owners like herself. She unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Rep. Carol McEntee in the last two elections for the seat representing parts of South Kingstown and Narragansett, closing the margin between McEntee and herself by nearly 4 percentage points from 2022 to 2024 — not insignificant for a Democratic stronghold, Drew-Day said.
She said she has recruited and supported more than a dozen other local Republican candidates in 2023 and 2024, including with donations from a political action committee she co-founded after the 2022 election. Drew-Day initially chaired the Transform RI PAC, but stepped down after Powers told her it was a conflict with her duties as GOP first vice-chair, she said.
As the GOP’s chair and first vice chair, Powers and Drew-Day were supposed to work closely together to coordinate party fundraisers, candidate trainings and other activities. But over the last two years, neither has seen much of the other.
Drew-Day contends she’s a regular at party events, including local Republican town committee meetings. She said she’s offered to help organize or raise money for the GOP, including for its 2023 congressional candidate, Gerry Leonard, but claims Powers ignored her offers.
Powers declined to comment on Drew-Day’s version of their relationship.
“I am a true Republican and live by Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment: ‘thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican,’” Powers said.
Niyoka Powell, who was elected in 2023 to serve as the party’s second vice chair, offered a different narrative than Drew-Day. Powell, who ran for a state Senate seat in 2022 and again in a 2023 special election, said she never heard from Drew-Day during her campaigns, though the Transform PAC donated to her 2023 campaign, according to campaign finance reports.
As second vice-chair, Powell said she worked closely with Powers, but not Drew-Day.
“We didn’t really see her much,” Powell said. “She didn’t come to anything of importance, and she always had a reason why she couldn’t make it.”
The GOP has amended its bylaws to eliminate the second vice-chair position for the 2025 elections. Powell is now seeking election as first vice chair on a slate with Powers.
The secretary factor
Drew-Day has tapped Pawtucket Republican Angelo Kapsimalis, a co-founder of the Transform RI PAC who unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Rep. Mary Ann Shallcross Smith in the 2024 election, to run with her as first vice chair. Joining them as candidate for secretary is Patricia Morgan, the former Republican state representative who lost her bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in 2024.
During her 12 years as a state representative, Morgan separated herself from fellow House Republicans, who ousted her as the party’s first female House minority leader in 2018 after she endorsed an independent candidate in the gubernatorial race. She caucused by herself, rather than with fellow House Republicans, in subsequent years.
In an online video promoting the trio created by Drew-Day’s production company, Drew-Day praises Morgan for “standing up for Rhode Islanders.”
But Drew-Day’s endorsement of Morgan could sour fellow Republicans on her candidacy.
“Patricia Morgan, I’ve seen her in operation for 22 years,” Frias said during a Feb. 21 appearance on Rhode Island PBS’ “A Lively Experiment.” “She is a hard worker, but she is hard to work with. When you’re a small minority and you have to have all hands on deck and everybody rowing the same way, style, personality does matter in getting things done.”
When you’re a small minority and you have to have all hands on deck and everybody rowing the same way, style, personality does matter in getting things done.
– Steve Frias, former Rhode Island Republican National Committeeman
Myers also issued a warning regarding Drew-Day’s alliance with Morgan.
“If she ends up adopting Pat Morgan’s approach as state party chair, it’s not going to be very effective for the Republican Party,” Myers said.
On the other hand, the allyship should be a sign that Drew-Day can unite disparate factions of the GOP, Myers said.
Getting testy on social media
Powers and Drew-Day were both relative newcomers to the GOP party when they were elected as chair and first vice chair in 2023, the Providence Journal reported.
While Powers promised to bring a fresh approach to the GOP, Drew-Day said she hasn’t seen much positive change. Republicans still hold just 14 out of 113 seats in the state legislature, and no statewide or congressional offices. And on pressing issues like the Washington Bridge shutdown or the RIBridges cyberattack, Drew-Day felt Powers was too slow in his public responses.
Powers again declined to respond to Drew-Day’s criticisms, redirecting the focus to his intent on “moving the party forward.”
“People who are focused on building the party are going to continue focusing on building the party, even when people out there try to waver,” he said.
Powers also declined to wade into the social media spats playing out between supporters of both candidates. Anthony D’Ellena, chair of the Narragansett Republican Town Committee and a vocal Drew-Day supporter, alleges that Powers threatened him with a lawsuit because of D’Ellena’s social media post referencing a 2023 lawsuit against the state GOP.
Powers denied ever speaking to D’Ellena.
Drew-Day declined to comment, saying the dispute did not involve her.
However, Drew-Day has publicly responded to social media posts by former state GOP Executive Director Jesus Solorio accusing her of using the party email list to solicit donations for her PAC. Drew-Day said her responses, which included screenshots of emails sent to Powers that she alleges were unanswered, were her attempt to defend herself.
Despite the public bickering, neither Drew-Day nor Powers seemed worried that internal divisions would weaken the party.
“There’s going to be a little bit of cleanup, sure, but that’s always going to be the case in an election,” Powers said.
Drew-Day pledged to create an “inclusive” party if elected.
“Getting people engaged is really important,” she said. “I stand on my record that I have been doing that even before I was elected as first vice chair.”
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