Projo Politics Blog

The secretary of state’s office has certified that 184 people — 114 Republicans and 70 Democrats — obtained enough signatures to appear on their parties’ ballots as delegate candidates in Rhode Island’s March 4 presidential primaries.

Democratic voters will elect 13 delegates and 4 alternates to their convention. Republicans will elect 17 delegates and 17 alternates. (In all, including ex-officio participants and appointees, Rhode Island will send 20 delegates to the GOP’s convention, in September, and 32 to the Democrats’ convention in August.

Of the Republican total, 41 delegate candidates support Mike Huckabee; Governor Carcieri supports Mitt Romney. Of the Democratic total, 31 — including former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. — support Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Also among the delegate candidates are former Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty, a Democrat who supports Barack Obama; Republican Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, who supports Rudolph Giuliani, and House Minority Leader Robert Watson, who supports John McCain.

On Friday, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will hold a lottery to determine the order in which the candidates’ names will appear on the primary ballots.

See all the names and numbers of potential delegates on the secretary of state’s Web site, www.sec.state.ri.us/candidates/presdelegates/.

bjeffers@projo.com

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