Ana QuezadaServing

Ana Quezada

State SenateDemocrat

RI-District 2 State Senate

Age 60·Dominican·State Senator District 2 (since 2017)

Why This Race Matters

Quezada won re-election in 2024 with 95.8% in the general election and ran unopposed in the primary. Her current term runs through January 2027. As the second Latino ever in the RI State Senate and the chamber's Deputy Majority Whip, she is one of the most powerful Latina legislators in New England.

Quezada defeated longtime incumbent Juan Pichardo by just 100 votes in the 2016 Democratic primary. Pichardo was the first Dominican-American state senator in the U.S., making Quezada the second Latino to hold this seat. She sponsored Rhode Island's $15 minimum wage law and the Human Trafficking Prevention Notice Act. Also ran in the 2023 U.S. House special election to succeed David Cicilline, receiving 3.5% in the Democratic primary.

About

Ana B. Quezada is a Rhode Island State Senator representing District 2 in Providence since 2017. Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, she immigrated to the U.S. at 17, quit school to work in a factory and send money to her mother back home. After moving to Providence in 1990, she earned her GED, put herself through college, and graduated from Springfield College with a BS in Social Work at age 52 -- the same year she was serving in the Senate. She is the second Latino ever elected to the Rhode Island State Senate.

Family & Heritage

Born April 23, 1965, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Parents from el campo outside La Vega. Father's family immigrated in the 1970s. She immigrated at 17, first to Tarrytown, NY (1982), working in a factory to send money to her mother in the DR. Moved to Providence in 1990. Married Lazaro Quezada in 1997 -- he was undocumented when he came to the U.S. Three children: daughters Leslie and Kayomie from a previous relationship, and son Emanuel.

Political Career

Before Politics

Factory worker in New York (1982-1990); Volunteer at Dorcas Place; Ocean State Job Lot employee; Social service coordinator at John Hope Settlement House (1995-2003); Code enforcement inspector for City of Providence (2003-present)

Education

GED; BS in Social Work, Springfield College (2017)

Key Issues & Priorities

*Minimum wage increases (sponsored $15/hr law)
*Gun safety reform
*LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections
*Human trafficking prevention
*Education and dual language immersion programs
*Workers' rights and employment-at-will reform
*Doula service insurance coverage
*Natural hair braider licensing exemption

Notable Legislation

Rhode Island $15/Hour Minimum Wage

signed into law

Human Trafficking Prevention Notice Act

Hotel signage requirement for human trafficking prevention

LGBTQ+ Civil Anti-Discrimination Protections

Natural Hair Braider Licensing Exemption

Doula Services Insurance Reimbursement

Dual Language Immersion Programs

Employment-at-Will Doctrine Reform

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