At a rally for 1st Congressional District candidate Aaron Regunberg at the Columbus Theatre on Aug. 27, speakers displayed the whole spectrum of progressive values. Outside the venue, a mystery truck drove around displaying an attack ad that, depending on who paid for it, could be illegal.
Regunberg is running in a crowded primary field of ten other mostly progressive Democrats. He’s been able to pull ahead of the pack, according to internal polling from other campaigns. He has also garnered more big ticket endorsements than the competition.
The speakers and performers for his rally came from across New England to take the stage. The line-up included aughties pop singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton, whose hit “A Thousand Miles” was the sixth most played radio song of 2002. She lives in Warwick, which is in the 2nd District.
Attendees came to the Regunburg rally to see Bernie Sanders
Most of the about 650 people who came to the Columbus Theatre on Sunday did not show up to see Carlton or Regunberg. Jaclyn Trindade was first in the block-long line. She had been waiting for three hours with her son and niece.
“I love Bernie Sanders,” said Trindade, who, like many others in attendance, was not a 1st District voter. She lives in Cranston. 
Not everyone in line had even heard of Regunberg. One woman thought his last name was Rosenberg. Trindade had heard his name but didn’t know much about him, though she said she supports him because of Sen. Sanders’ endorsement.
“With Bernie I trust him. I do. I trust him fully and I trust that who he supports, I can support as well,” she said. 
If attendees hadn’t heard Regunberg’s name previously, they likely left knowing it. Speaker after speaker sang praises about the former State House Representative’s progressive values. Sanders named him about 14 times in his 20- minute speech. He also said he believes Regunberg will work to fight corporations and billionaires
“Now is the time for a political revolution of working families coming together, telling the people on top this country belongs to all of us, elect Aaron and we’re going to take a strong step forward in doing just that,” he said.
Super PACs and the Regunberg campaign
Sanders told audiences about what he called his number one priority.
“We got to overturn the Citizens United,” he said.
Citizens United was a landmark supreme court case, one of the outcomes of which has been the creation of super PACs. They’re a kind of political action committee that can collect unlimited amounts of money from donors and funnel it towards campaigns or causes. Critics like Bernie Sanders say it allows wealthy donors to have a larger say in the outcome of an election than people who cannot afford to contribute as much. Sanders instead supports the public funding of elections.
Regunberg has also said he supports overturning Citizens United and the public funding of elections, though he has come under fire in recent weeks for accepting donations from a super PAC operated by his family, to which they contributed at least $130,000.
Asked during a candidate forum last week about how he can reconcile his disdain for the wealthy controlling elections with large donations from his family, Regunberg said until Citizens United is actually overturned, he wants Democratic candidates to be able to have the same access to the tools the Republicans have.
“I’ve always been consistent,” he said. “Until that happens, I don’t want Joe Biden to swear off the super PACs that are helping them defeat Donald Trump.”
Sanders did not respond to an email asking if he sees a conflict between the super PAC’s support for Regunberg and his stance on Citizens United.
Mystery van raises questions about race
Regunberg is competing in the special election primary against eight other candidates, six of whom are people of color and either immigrants themselves, or first-generation Americans. At the rally, State Rep. Leonela Felix of Pawtucket spoke to this point, saying people often ask her why she supports Regunberg.
“The real question that I often can sense that people are asking me is really why do I, a Black Afro-Latina woman, am supporting Aaron over other people of color who are running?” She said. “More than identity politics, Rhode Island needs a champion who will fight to ensure that families not only survive, but that they thrive. The only candidate with a track record to do so to fight for progressive policies is Aaron,” she said, though other candidates who have held public seats have also voted for progressive policies at the state and city levels.
The question about why Sen. Sanders is throwing his support behind one of a small handful of white, male candidates in the Democratic field was also posed by a truck spotted around town on Sunday, including near the Columbus Theatre.
The sides and back of the truck bore large screens flashing different messages with a picture of Bernie Sanders. They read, in turn, “Bernie Sanders once again not supporting a progressive woman,” and “Bernie Sanders once again not supporting a person of color.” The screens did not say who paid for the truck. 
The driver of the truck, Scott Doam, said he didn’t know who paid for the ad. According to the company that subcontracted out to Doam’s employer, Boost Outdoor Media, whoever did pay wanted to remain anonymous. Doam said he didn’t even know what the ad said until after he had driven hours from his home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to the jobsite in Providence.
“They must have known it was going to be contentious because they didn’t send us the ad till like 15 minutes before showtime,” he said.
Doam said things got a little tense when he first showed up at the theater.
“It was kind of feisty, and rightfully so,” he said.
So he made a sign to put in the window of his truck to show he was not responsible for the ad.
“I devised my own little safety program. It says ‘DRIVER LUVS BERNIE,’” said Doam.
He said people paying for the ads usually provide a phone number.
On the website X, formerly known as Twitter, CD1 candidate Stephanie Beauté posted two photos of herself with the truck and added the caption “My name is Stephanie Beauté and I approve this message.” This led to speculation that she may have paid for it.
If Beauté, another candidate, or one of their campaigns did pay for the ad it would be a Federal Election Commission violation – even though the ad attacked Sanders, who is not a candidate. That’s according to attorney and former FEC chairman Michael Toner.
“All public communications by federal candidates have to have a disclaimer, no matter what the content,” he said.
Though if it were paid for by a PAC, super PAC, or just an individual, Toner said it may not be against FEC rules.
Neither Beauté nor her campaign responded to the speculation that she may have paid for the ad. She has ignored calls, texts, emails and tweets from The Public’s Radio for nearly 24 hours.
Although the driver texted that he planned to “make amends” to Sanders and Regunberg, writing he was “pissed that I was a part of this disgraceful event,” not everyone felt that way. Rep. Felix laughed about the truck as it passed by, and appeared to snap a picture of it with her phone.
How and when to vote
Early voting has already opened for the special election primary. Here’s how to find your polling place if you want to vote on the day of the election, Sept. 5. The general election, which will include the victor from the two-person Republican primary, will occur on Nov. 7.
Metro reporter Olivia Ebertz can be reached at olivia@thepublicsradio.org. Follow her on Twitter @OliviaEbertz.
Editor’s note: Previously this article stated that there were eight other candidates in the race in addition to Aaron Regunberg, which has since been corrected.
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