Jonathan Aaron Regunberg (born January 26, 1990) is an American lawyer and progressive politician who served as the member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is ...

for the 4th district from 2015 to 2019. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for

lieutenant governor of Rhode Island The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown. In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gov ...

in 2018. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2023 special election for

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district Rhode Island's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It includes all of Bristol County, Rhode Island, Bristol and Newport County, Rhode Island, Newport counties, along with parts of Providence ...

Early life and education

Regunberg is a native of Chicago. His father, Jonathan Regunberg, died in a plane crash before Aaron was born. Regunberg's grandfather was born in Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1948 after surviving

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Regunberg's uncle is U.S. Representative

Brad Schneider Bradley Scott Schneider (born August 20, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district since 2017 and also served fro ...

from

Illinois's 10th congressional district The 10th congressional district of Illinois lies in the northeast corner of the state and mostly comprises northern suburbs of Chicago. It was created after the 1860 census. The district is currently represented by Democrat Brad Schneider. ...

Aaron and his sister were raised by their mother, Erica Regunberg, in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago. Regunberg graduated ''magna cum laude'' from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. While at Brown, Regunberg co-founded the Providence Student Union, a youth-led public school student advocacy organization that has organized around issues including

ethnic studies Ethnic studies, in the United States, is the interdisciplinary study of difference—chiefly race, ethnicity, and nation, but also sexuality, gender, and other such markings—and power, as expressed by the state, by civil society, and by indivi ...

curricula, infrastructure repairs, free student bus passes, and an end to school closings and high-stakes testing. Regunberg attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, receiving a J.D. in 2022.

Career

Rhode Island House of Representatives

In 2014, Regunberg was elected to serve Rhode Island House District 4 on the East Side of Providence.

Elections

In the race for Rhode Island House District 4, Regunberg won 51.5% of the vote in the Democratic primary against challengers Heather Tow-Yick and Miriam Ross, who won 33.9% and 14.6%, respectively. He received the endorsement of the Progressive Democrats of Rhode Island, Clean Water Action,

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

, and progressive labor organizations. He went on to defeat independent candidate Ethan Gyles in the general election, 83% to 17%. Regunberg ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and in the general election for Rhode Island House District 4.

Tenure

During his first term as state Representative, Regunberg introduced and passed legislation raising Rhode Island's tipped minimum wage for the first time in 20 years, established online voter registration, and created new

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

programs. He also introduced and passed legislation to guarantee earned

paid sick days Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because ...

for over 100,000 Rhode Islanders, and pushed for a state-level

carbon pricing Carbon pricing (or pricing) is a method for governments to Climate change mitigation, mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, ...

system,

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

system, and a more

progressive tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the ...

system, among other proposals. He also chaired a special legislative study commission to reform the use of

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

in Rhode Island. Regunberg served as a member of the Rules Committee for the Democratic National Convention in July 2016, where he was a leader in the campaign to reform the Democratic Party's use of

superdelegate In American politics, a superdelegate is a delegate to a presidential nominating convention who is seated automatically. In Democratic National Conventions, superdelegates—described in formal party rules as the party leaders and electe ...

s in future presidential nominating contests. After Donald Trump's election in 2016, Aaron Regunberg worked locally to resist the Trump administration's agenda. He co-founded Resist Hate RI, a coalition of activists and organizations that mobilized hundreds of Rhode Island residents to take state and federal action in opposition to the Trump administration. He introduced legislation that would divest Rhode Island from any companies that contracted to help build Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico. Regunberg received a 74% score from Common Cause Rhode Island in their 2015-2016 legislative scorecard, and an A rating from the Environmental Council of Rhode Island.

Committee assignments

;2015 For the 2015 legislative session, Regunberg served on the following Rhode Island House of Representatives committees: * Environment and Natural Resources * Health, Education and Welfare ;2017 During the 2017 legislative session, Regunberg served on the following Rhode Island House of Representatives committees: * Environment and Natural Resources * Labor

2018 campaign for lieutenant governor

In late October 2017, Regunberg announced that he would run to become the

in the 2018 election. He ran against incumbent lieutenant governor

Dan Mckee Daniel J. McKee (born June 16, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 76th governor of Rhode Island since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also served as Rhode Island's 69th Lie ...

in the Democratic primary. In his announcement speech, Regunberg said that if elected, he would be a voice "for all of the Rhode Islanders who can’t afford that State House lobbyist," and campaigned on a progressive platform, including as one of the earliest supporters of a

Green New Deal The Green New Deal (GND) calls for public policy to address climate change, along with achieving other social aims like job creation, economic growth, and reducing economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of changes and ...

. His bid received national attention when

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

named it one of the "9 Democratic primaries to watch in 2018." Regunberg's campaign was endorsed by many progressive organizations and politicians throughout

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. In March 2018, Regunberg received the endorsement of Providence

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Jorge Elorza. Regunberg was defeated in the Democratic primary election by incumbent Dan McKee, receiving 49% of the vote to McKee's 51%. After the election, Regunberg served as a Senior Policy Advisor to Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. In the summer of 2019, he was arrested as a part of a Never Again Action protest against President Donald Trump's immigration reforms.

2023 congressional campaign

Regunberg was a candidate in the 2023 special election for

. Leaving his job as a legal clerk in U.S. District Court in Providence to run for the open seat, he was endorsed by

Senator Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the senior United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independent in US congressional history, but maintains a close relati ...

, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

, Congressman

Jamie Raskin Jamin Ben Raskin (born December 13, 1962) is an American attorney, law professor, and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th congressional district since 2017. A member of the Demo ...

, and the

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Caucus, ...

. He was also endorsed by several local officials, including former state senator J. Clement “Bud” Cicilline, the uncle of former Rep.

David Cicilline David Nicola Cicilline ( ; born July 15, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 36th mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, the fi ...

. Following his endorsement of Regunberg, former Sen. Cicilline stated that Regunberg reminded him of his nephew. Despite several election prognosticators viewing Regunberg as a favorite, he was defeated by

Gabe Amo Gabriel Felix Kofi Amo ( ; born December 11, 1987) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Before running for Congress, Amo worked in the Biden administration as the deputy director of the White House Offic ...

in the September 5 primary.

Writing

Regunberg is a contributing writer for ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' starting in 2021.

References

External links

Official websiteRhode Island General Assembly Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regunberg, Aaron 1990 births American people of German-Jewish descent Brown University alumni Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Candidates in the 2023 United States elections Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American people in Rhode Island politics Living people Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island 21st-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly