The Little State That Could

Venture capitalist-turned-politician Gina Raimondo is bringing prosperity to Rhode Island

- Jillian Goodman, Joel Weber, and Eric Gelman

Gina Raimondo is on the floor, cheek-to-cheek with constituents—only these constituents didn’t cast the votes that got her reelected as Rhode Island’s governor last November. They’re East Providence preschoolers listening to her read Too Many Carrots, a children’s book where the carrots symbolize unbridled wealth. “So do you think sharing makes everything better?” she asks. They answer with unanimous assent.

Thanks to Raimondo, the smallest state in the U.S. is on the rise. When she arrived at the Capitol in Providence in 2015, Rhode Island ranked in the lower half of U.S. states in economic health, according to the Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index that tracks employment, tax revenue, personal income, and other measures. It is now above average. During her time in office, for example, unemployment decreased from 6.7 percent to 3.8 percent—the lowest rate in 30 years. “I feel like I’ve taken the trajectory of Rhode Island and changed it,” Raimondo, 47, says during an interview in her sage-colored office.

Voters seem to agree. Not only is she the first gubernatorial winner of a majority in more than a decade (52.6 percent), she’s the first woman to be reelected to the position as well as the first Democrat elected to lead the Ocean State since 1991. The Harvard-educated economist and Rhodes scholar is effectively writing a turnaround case study in how a state government with little going its way can become something of a benchmark. Her three-pronged strategy: create fiscal stability, invest in education and infrastructure, and recruit companies—relentlessly.