Governors: Battling for Every Vote

An Outsider's Chance

Normally, any Republican candidate for Governor in the resolutely Democratic state of Rhode Island would be considered rash even to run. But Edward DiPrete, the stolid two-term G.O.P. mayor of Cranston, R.I., is facing extraordinary circumstances. An unusually bitter Democratic primary has split his opposition, while statewide disillusionment with government may have opened a door for long-frustrated Republicans. For the first time in 16 years, the G.O.P. has a shot at the statehouse.

DiPrete launched his campaign in earnest last week when Anthony Solomon, state general treasurer, emerged from the...