# Megan Cotter

Megan Cotter is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House for district 39.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Rhode Island House, district 39
- Serving since: 2023-01-03
- Current term: RI 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/4ad02cf0-3ead-4bc4-84e3-d1c08c3aa11a

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/4ad02cf0-3ead-4bc4-84e3-d1c08c3aa11a (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

28% of the 350 bills Cotter sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom quarter of the Rhode Island House.

## What Cotter says (RI 2025–26 session)

57 classified statements: 57 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Cotter | State House Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.5% | 584 of 764 |
| Policy criticism | 15.8% | 10.4% | 190 of 764 |
| Policy discussion | 21.1% | 39.2% | 621 of 764 |
| Bipartisanship | 1.8% | 2.9% | 399 of 764 |
| Credit claiming | 12.3% | 14.4% | 375 of 764 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.0% | 543 of 764 |

Most discussed policy areas: Energy 33% (State House Democrats 3.6%); Commerce 17% (State House Democrats 3.1%); Health 17% (State House Democrats 15%); Agriculture and Food 8.3% (State House Democrats 4.6%); Economics and Public Finance 8.3% (State House Democrats 11%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.58 (standard error 0.02), from 741 donors and 564 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 57% of State House Democrats score lower.

## Votes (RI 2025–26 session)

1,359 roll calls. Attendance 98.6% (Rhode Island House 90.9%). Party unity 92.4% (94.0%). 20 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · HB 7377 AN ACT RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- LOCAL CANVASSING AUTHORITIES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB7377/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT · HR 8351 JOINT RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY RHODE ISLAND'S EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA AND EDUCATION FINANCE SYSTEM · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8351/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3358 AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF CRANSTON TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION, IMPROVEMENT, RENOVATION AND REPAIR OF FIRE AND PUBLIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT BY THE… · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3358/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3259 AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3259/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SR 3353 JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY CERTAIN CLAIMS · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3353/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3290 AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--COURTS -- SUPERIOR COURT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3290/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · PASSAGE OF AMENDMENT · SB 3066 AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- CHILDREN'S MOBILE RESPONSE AND STABILIZATION SERVICES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3066/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3334 AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE RHODE ISLAND LIFE SCIENCE HUB ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3334/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 3333 AN ACT RELATING TO THE NORTH TIVERTON FIRE DISTRICT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3333/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · IN CONCURRENCE · SB 2733 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- ARREST · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2733/

## Legislation (RI 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 350 bills: 350 reached committee, 99 passed one chamber, 54 passed both, 54 became law. Cosponsored 0. 28.3% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Rhode Island House 39.5%; rank 60 of 74).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HR 8634: HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH J. SOLOMON JR. FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-06-11) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8634/
- HR 8628: HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING AND THANKING SPEAKER K. JOSEPH SHEKARCHI FOR HIS EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP AND DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-06-11) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8628/
- HB 8613: AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- FARMLAND PRESERVATION ACT (in committee, 2026-06-04) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8613/
- HB 8603: AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- OPERATORS' AND CHAUFFEURS' LICENSES (became law, 2026-06-18) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8603/
- HR 8599: HOUSE RESOLUTION CELEBRATING AND HONORING THE GIRL SCOUTS OF SOUTHEASTERN NEW ENGLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-05-28) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8599/
- HR 8598: HOUSE RESOLUTION DECLARING MAY 28, 2026, AS "PHARMACY ADVOCACY DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-05-28) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8598/
- HB 8595: AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT INSURANCE POLICIES (became law, 2026-06-22) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8595/
- HR 8571: HOUSE RESOLUTION DECLARING MAY 2026 AS "WILDFIRE AWARENESS MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-05-21) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8571/
- HB 8562: AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL (in committee, 2026-05-21) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8562/
- HR 8539: HOUSE RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING THAWN SHERENTÉ HARRIS ON SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THE 2026 BOSTON MARATHON AND HONORING THE LEGACY OF HIS GREAT-UNCLE, ELLISON… (passed one chamber, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8539/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $52.9K (State House Democrats median $40.4K). 87% 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.

- 2026-10-09 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/2108537466168725862
- 2025-10-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1981338733501726728
- 2025-10-17 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1979191649176608940
- 2025-09-25 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1971233729843794411
- 2025-09-17 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1968126754511589488
- 2025-09-10 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1965893323589361793
- 2025-09-10 · Post on X · labels: bipartisanship · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1965893368665485785
- 2025-09-04 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1963674428979724543
- 2025-06-29 · Post on X · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1939456169593967056
- 2025-06-19 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion, credit claiming · https://x.com/CotterforRI/status/1935698941670027472

## Links

- Official site: https://www.rilegislature.gov/representatives/cotter/Pages/Biography.aspx
- Campaign site: https://www.megancotterri.com/
- X: https://x.com/CotterforRI
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megan.cotter.77
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CotterforRI
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-cotter-1b730184/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/4ad02cf0-3ead-4bc4-84e3-d1c08c3aa11a