Gabe Amo, son of Ghanaian and Liberian immigrants, keeps his Rhode Island seat
A nurse's son from Pawtucket, he worked for two presidents before becoming the first Black person his state sent to Congress.
Providence — Gabe Amo, whose father came from Ghana and whose mother came from Liberia, has been re-elected in Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District.
With 97% of votes counted, the 38-year-old Democrat had 68%. The Republican Kellie Keenan had 28% and the independent Pedro DeSouza 4%.
Pawtucket beginnings
Amo was born and raised in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His mother is a nurse and his father owns a liquor store. He attended Moses Brown School in Providence, graduated from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and studied at Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship.
Two White Houses
He worked in the Obama administration as a liaison to governors and state officials. Under President Biden he was a special assistant to the president and deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, working with mayors and local officials.
A first for Rhode Island
When David Cicilline resigned from Congress in 2023, Amo left the White House to run for the seat. He won the Democratic primary that September and the special election in November with about 65% of the vote, becoming the first Black person Rhode Island has elected to Congress.
He won a full term in 2024 and now has a second.
Source: Yen.com.gh, BusinessDay, Wikipedia, November 2026.
