Brandon Potter | |
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Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from the 16th district | |
Assumed office January 5, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Christopher Millea |
Personal details | |
Born | August 6, 1984 |
Political party | Democratic Party |
Brandon Potter (born 6 August 1984) is an American politician who is state representative in the Rhode Island House of Representatives for the 16th district. [1] In the 2020 election, Potter primaried incumbent representative Christopher Millea, a close ally of speaker Nicholas Mattiello, with the support of the Working Families Party, winning the Democratic nomination. [2] After being unable to contact Millea, Potter was motivated to run for office when his girlfriend was removed from a kidney transplant waiting list, and the Herb Chambers car dealership he was working at was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] Potter proceeded to defeat Republican Maryann Lancia in the general election by a margin of 585 votes. [1] He was endorsed by Bernie Sanders. [4]
Following the news that state Rep. Justin Price had attended the 2021 United States Capitol attack, Potter was the first elected official to publicly call for him to resign. [5]
A former member of the Rhode Island Political Cooperative, he was expelled from the group for supporting House Speaker Joe Shekarchi. [6] Potter later called the organization “toxic to the progressive movement” after the group faced criticism for targeting other progressives. [7]