# Thomas Paolino Thomas Paolino is a Republican member of the Rhode Island Senate for district 17. - Party: Republican - Seat: Rhode Island Senate, district 17 - Serving since: 2017-01-03 - Current term: RI 2025–26 session - Open States ID: ocd-person/285c33e3-5c40-44d8-9c16-22e49b6a0a81 Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/285c33e3-5c40-44d8-9c16-22e49b6a0a81 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set]. ## Headline Paolino sits at −0.08 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 97% of State Senate Republicans. ## What Paolino says (RI 2025–26 session) 17 classified statements: 17 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate. | Label | Paolino | State Senate Republicans average | Rank | |---|---|---|---| | Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.3% | 272 of 354 | | Policy criticism | 0.0% | 9.5% | 331 of 354 | | Policy discussion | 35.3% | 37.3% | 192 of 354 | | Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 2.3% | 311 of 354 | | Credit claiming | 17.6% | 15.4% | 134 of 354 | | Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.3% | 261 of 354 | Most discussed policy areas: Education 67% (State Senate Republicans 14%); Government Operations and Politics 33% (State Senate Republicans 17%); Crime and Law Enforcement 17% (State Senate Republicans 12%); Labor and Employment 17% (State Senate Republicans 3.2%); Transportation and Public Works 17% (State Senate Republicans 6.0%). ## Ideology (CSIP) CSIP score −0.08 (standard error 0.01), from 56 donors and 908 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 3.5% of State Senate Republicans score lower. ## Votes (RI 2025–26 session) 912 roll calls. Attendance 97.7% (Rhode Island Senate 96.4%). Party unity 92.9% (94.6%). 11 votes against the party majority. Key votes: - 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 2678 AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' RETIREMENT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2678/ - 2026-06-11 · voted yea · In Concurrence · SB 2292 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- DISARMING A PEACE OFFICER · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2292/ - 2026-06-11 · voted nay · Passage · SB 3361 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE AND SALE · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3361/ - 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 3366 AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3366/ - 2026-06-11 · voted yea · In Concurrence · SB 2734 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2734/ - 2026-06-11 · voted yea · In Concurrence · SB 3184 AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- NURSES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3184/ - 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 2330 AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION AND TITLING · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2330/ - 2026-06-11 · voted nay · Passage · SB 2045 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- PROTECT OUR COURTS ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2045/ - 2026-06-11 · voted nay · Passage · SB 3361 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE AND SALE · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3361/ - 2026-06-11 · voted nay · Passage · SB 2045 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- PROTECT OUR COURTS ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2045/ ## Legislation (RI 2025–26 session) Sponsored 213 bills: 212 reached committee, 65 passed one chamber, 15 passed both, 15 became law. Cosponsored 0. 30.5% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Rhode Island Senate 41.9%; rank 34 of 38). Recent sponsored bills: - SR 3211: SENATE RESOLUTION EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF THE HONORABLE JOSEPH A. ABBATE (introduced, 2026-06-09) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3211/ - SR 3340: SENATE RESOLUTION HONORING THE 241ST BRISTOL FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION AND RECOGNIZING THE 2026 HONOREES (passed one chamber, 2026-06-02) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3340/ - SR 3270: SENATE RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING AND RECOGNIZING MAY 7, 2026, AS "NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-05-07) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3270/ - SR 3269: SENATE RESOLUTION EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF ARTHUR PAIVA (passed one chamber, 2026-05-07) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3269/ - SR 3238: SENATE RESOLUTION CELEBRATING THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE YMCA IN THE UNITED STATES AND RECOGNIZING THE IMPACT OF THE RHODE ISLAND ALLIANCE OF YMCAS (passed one chamber, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3238/ - SB 3203: AN ACT RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- RETAIL LICENSES (became law, 2026-06-11) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3203/ - SR 3178: SENATE RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING MARCH 31, 2026 AS “ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION OF RHODE ISLAND ADVOCACY AND AWARENESS DAY” IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-02) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3178/ - SR 3177: SENATE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL OF 2026, TO BE "FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-02) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3177/ - SR 3173: SENATE RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE COURAGE, HEROISM, AND COMPASSION OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO RENDERED AID DURING THE LYNCH ARENA SHOOTING IN PAWTUCKET (passed one chamber, 2026-03-31) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3173/ - SB 3167: AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THEFT, EMBEZZLEMENT, FALSE PRETENSES, AND MISAPPROPRIATION (passed one chamber, 2026-06-04) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3167/ ## Campaign money (2026 cycle) Itemized receipts $7,139 (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 92% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors. ## Recent statements Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only. - 2026-10-14 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2110367070302920975 - 2026-10-02 · Post on X · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2106020974701232158 - 2026-09-16 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2100298447798604027 - 2026-09-11 · Post on X · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2098410233626308807 - 2026-07-04 · Post on X · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2073370683854250490 - 2026-06-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2069072622185308633 - 2026-05-25 · Post on X · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2059060854184677839 - 2026-05-20 · Post on X · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2057203462459326859 - 2026-05-13 · Post on X · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2054572362092224787 - 2026-03-19 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino/status/2034727927338705392 ## Links - Official site: https://www.rilegislature.gov/senators/Paolino/Pages/Biography.aspx - X: https://x.com/ThomasJPaolino - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tpaolino - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaolinoThomas/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaspaolino/ Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/285c33e3-5c40-44d8-9c16-22e49b6a0a81