PROVIDENCE, United States | Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, a Jewish convert and outspoken supporter of Israel, has lost the Democratic mayoral primary to progressive state Rep. David Morales in a race that increasingly reflected the growing influence of Israel-related politics in American municipal elections.
Official Rhode Island election results showed Morales winning 53.57 percent of the vote to Smileyโs 46.43 percent, with all Providence precincts reporting. Morales received 13,284 votes to Smileyโs 11,512.
Earlier reporting, when 99 percent of ballots had been counted, had placed the margin at 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. The final unofficial state tally widened Moralesโs advantage.
Morales, 27, is a democratic socialist and member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. His victory ended Smileyโs bid for another term and positioned Morales as the favorite heading into Novemberโs general election in heavily Democratic Providence.
Housing affordability, rent policy and the cost of living were major issues in the campaign, but Israel also became an unusually prominent dividing line in a municipal race.
Smiley openly supported Israel and opposed a binding November ballot measure that could restrict Providence from investing in companies connected to countries accused of genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing or illegal occupation.
Although the measure does not mention Israel by name, supporters and opponents have openly treated it as part of the broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign targeting Israel.
Smiley Opposed Divestment Measure
Smiley argued that the proposed measure was legally problematic and potentially unenforceable.
The mayor previously told Jewish Insider that the initiative was โboth unenforceable and likely in violation of existing state law.โ
Morales supports the ballot proposal.
The issue has attracted particular attention from Providenceโs Jewish community and pro-Israel organizations.
The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island has opposed the measure, warning that it could deepen divisions and make Jewish residents feel increasingly unsafe. The Rhode Island-Israel Collaborative has also campaigned against the proposal.
Providence has an estimated Jewish population of about 15,000, representing roughly seven per cent of the city, according to reporting by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
If approved in November, the measure would be binding, unlike several symbolic municipal resolutions concerning Israel adopted or debated elsewhere in the United States.
That makes Providence an important test for the expanding effort to bring Israel-related divestment campaigns directly to municipal voters.
Smiley Converted to Judaism in Office
Smiley converted to Judaism in 2024 while serving as mayor and later celebrated a bar mitzvah.
He has been publicly identified with Jewish communal life and with support for Israel, including through his involvement with the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
Morales criticized Smiley during the campaign for participating in a mayoral summit organized by the group, arguing that the organization suppresses pro-Palestinian speech and lacks transparency surrounding its funding.
Smiley and local Jewish organizations have rejected efforts to characterize pro-Israel advocacy as incompatible with progressive municipal politics.
The campaign also took an uglier turn when pro-Smiley campaign material was vandalized with Hitler-style mustaches and devil horns.
Morales condemned the vandalism.
No evidence shows Morales or his campaign was responsible for the defacement.
Israel Was One Issue Among Several
Smileyโs defeat should not be reduced solely to Israel.
The campaign was also heavily shaped by housing affordability, rent regulation and frustration among younger and lower-income voters.
Morales campaigned on rent stabilization, affordable housing expansion and protections for immigrants, while criticizing Smiley for what he argued was insufficient action on rising housing costs.
Smiley defended his record on housing construction, public safety and municipal services while warning that rent-control proposals could discourage new development.
Morales received support from prominent progressive figures including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Rep. Ro Khanna, as well as organizations associated with the democratic socialist movement.
His victory forms part of a broader pattern of progressive challengers defeating establishment Democrats in several American cities.
Still, the explicit disagreement over Israel gives the Providence result additional significance for Jewish and pro-Israel observers.
Local Elections Increasingly Drawn Into Israel Debate
The Providence race shows how disputes over Israel once concentrated in federal politics, university campuses and foreign-policy institutions are increasingly moving into city elections.
Municipal candidates are now being challenged over whether they support Israel, whether city pension funds should divest from companies doing business with the country, and how local governments should respond to pro-Palestinian activism.
In Providence, voters will return to the polls in November not only to elect a mayor but also to decide the divestment initiative.
Morales is expected to face Republican David Talan in the general election and enters that contest as the clear favorite in a strongly Democratic city.
For Jewish organizations opposing the ballot measure, the primary result means a politician who supports the initiative could soon occupy the mayor’s office.
For Israel advocates more broadly, Smileyโs defeat offers another example of a political divide becoming increasingly visible at the municipal level.
The election cannot establish that Smiley lost because of his support for Israel. Housing, generational politics, and dissatisfaction with the incumbent were all significant factors.
But Israel was unmistakably part of the race.
And with Providence preparing for a binding divestment vote in November, the debate that divided Smiley and Morales during the primary is far from over.
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