Projo Politics Blog

Edward O'Neill, the newcomer to state politics who knocked off R.I. Senate President Joseph Montalbano, is officially an independent.

That means he gets to choose which party he caucuses with.

Reached at the Senate budget briefing Thursday night, O'Neill said he would likely join the Senate Republican caucus, which currently has just four members.

"To me, caucusing means you get service from a group," he said. "Right now, the Democrats are loaded with people so they're not going to have any excess resources available, whereas the Republicans...they should have people available to support me."

Does that mean O'Neill will get a chance to break the 2-2 stalemate between Sen. Dennis Algiere and Sen. Leo Blais over who serves as the next minority leader?

"There's even a debate about that," O'Neill said. "One of the contenders said I wouldn't have a vote. The other says I do."

He said it really doesn't matter. He doesn't plan to vote even if he could.

"I don't have a dog in that hunt," O'Neill said. "I'm not a Republican; I don't have a right to vote."

 Tags  Edward O'Neill R.I. Senate R.I. Senate Republicans

---