Moderate Party of Rhode Island
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Moderate Party of Rhode Island
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| Chairperson | William Gilbert |
| Founder | Ken Block |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Ideology |
Centrism Fiscal conservatism |
| Political position | Center |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colors | Red, blue |
| Website | |
| rimoderateparty |
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The Moderate Party of Rhode Island is the third-largest contemporary political party in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, after the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Moderate Party of Rhode Island gained official party status and ballot access via a federal lawsuit and the gathering of 34,000 signatures on August 18, 2009.
The Moderate Party of Rhode Island states that its mission is "to recruit, support, and elect candidates that will govern by building consensus around smart, pragmatic, common-sense policies which will address the structural deficits currently plaguing Rhode Island's economic, educational, ethical and environmental systems".
The Moderate party gained official party status and ballot access via a federal lawsuit and the gathering of 34,000 signatures on August 18, 2009. The Moderates fielded candidates for various state offices in the 2010 elections. The Party Founder and 2010 gubernatorial candidate, Kenneth Block, stated that the party's primary focus would be the Rhode Island General Assembly; however, the possibility of further candidates for governor and other state offices was likely.
In 2012, the Moderate Party fielded lawyer Nick Gelfuso for a Rhode Island Senate seat, realtor Joseph Botelho, Jr. for a Rhode Island House of Representatives seat, and 3 candidates in local elections. All were unsuccessful. The following year, party founder Kenneth Block left the Moderate Party and closed down the campaign accounts, website, and social media accounts. However, the party's status as an officially state-recognized political party remained. The legal status included the right to ballot access in the 2014 elections.
In September 2014, the Moderate Party's chosen gubernatorial candidate James Spooner withdrew for health reasons. Perennial third-party candidate and former Cool Moose Party founder Robert J. Healey was selected to replace Spooner on the November ballot. Following his speedy nomination, the Rhode Island Republican Party filed a claim with the board of elections contesting the appointment. Representing himself, Healey successfully argued that his Moderate Party candidacy was legitimate.
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