Kim Ahern elected Rhode Island’s first Democratic female Attorney General

Democrat Kim Ahern easily defeated Republican Alan Gordon in Tuesday’s general election to become Rhode Island’s next attorney general, succeeding term-limited incumbent Peter Neronha.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:04 p.m. with an estimated 84% of the vote counted.

Ahern received 66% of the vote to Gordon’s 34%, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections.

Ahern, 43, is the second woman to be elected as the state’s top lawyer. Republican Arlene Violet was the first, serving from 1985 to 1987.

A former state prosecutor, Ahern served as deputy counsel for former Gov. Gina Raimondo and deputy chief of staff for Gov. Dan McKee. She most recently served as the head of the three-member Cannabis Control Commission, a position she held since the panel’s inception by the state in 2023.

Ahern won September’s four-way Democratic primary with 36.3% of the vote, defeating Keith Hoffmann, Neronha’s endorsed successor, who received 33%.

During her campaign, Ahern emphasized consumer protection, health care oversight and challenging federal policies she considers unlawful. A centerpiece of her platform is a proposal to create a Reproductive Justice unit within the attorney general’s office to defend abortion access, which she says is threatened by the Trump-Vance administration.

Gordon, 57, is a canon lawyer from West Greenwich for the Healing Church, a Christian sect that uses cannabis in its services. He campaigned on constitutional rights and government accountability, along with proposing criminally charging men for unwanted pregnancies.

Gordon ran unsuccessfully for attorney general as a member of the Compassion Party in 2018. He was unopposed in the 2026 Republican primary, but did not receive the party’s endorsement.