# Matthew Dawson

Matthew Dawson is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island House for district 65.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Rhode Island House, district 65
- Serving since: 2023-01-03
- Current term: RI 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/bffdb553-5c5c-403e-8e2c-47b34a7b50f5

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/bffdb553-5c5c-403e-8e2c-47b34a7b50f5 (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

Dawson sits at −1.09 on the CSIP scale, more liberal than 94% of State House Democrats.

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

51 classified statements: 51 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 | Dawson | State House Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 5.9% | 2.5% | 118 of 764 |
| Policy criticism | 0.0% | 10.4% | 717 of 764 |
| Policy discussion | 2.0% | 39.2% | 744 of 764 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 2.9% | 676 of 764 |
| Credit claiming | 2.0% | 14.4% | 646 of 764 |
| Extreme labels | 2.0% | 1.0% | 119 of 764 |

Most discussed policy areas: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 100% (State House Democrats 9.8%); Agriculture and Food 0% (State House Democrats 4.6%); Armed Forces and National Security 0% (State House Democrats 3.1%); Commerce 0% (State House Democrats 3.1%); Crime and Law Enforcement 0% (State House Democrats 8.0%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −1.09 (standard error 0.03), from 227 donors and 560 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 6.0% of State House Democrats score lower.

## Votes (RI 2025–26 session)

1,359 roll calls. Attendance 88% (Rhode Island House 90.9%). Party unity 99.6% (94.0%). 1 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 274 bills: 274 reached committee, 101 passed one chamber, 60 passed both, 60 became law. Cosponsored 0. 36.9% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Rhode Island House 39.5%; rank 40 of 74).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HR 8636: HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING REPRESENTATIVE JASON KNIGHT FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-06-11) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8636/
- HR 8633: HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING REPRESENTATIVE ROBERT E. CRAVEN SR. FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-06-11) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8633/
- HB 8627: AN ACT RELATING TO SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGES (became law, 2026-06-26) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8627/
- HB 8614: AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION FEES (became law, 2026-06-19) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8614/
- HB 8578: AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- FAMILY CAREGIVERS SUPPORT ACT OF 2013 (in committee, 2026-06-02) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8578/
- HB 8559: AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES (passed one chamber, 2026-06-04) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8559/
- HB 8531: AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE (in committee, 2026-05-19) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8531/
- HB 8489: AN ACT RELATING TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF RHODE ISLAND -- 2026 BOND REFERENDA (in committee, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HB8489/
- HR 8480: HOUSE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL 28, 2026, AS "PAY IT FORWARD WITH LOVE FROM TORI DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-28) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8480/
- HR 8441: HOUSE RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF BASEBALL ICON DAVEY LOPES AND EXPRESSING SYMPATHY ON HIS PASSING (passed one chamber, 2026-04-14) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/HR8441/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $32.0K (State House Democrats median $40.4K). 90% 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.

- 2026-09-24 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2102977092019487151
- 2026-08-07 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2085764840400761052
- 2026-07-28 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2082136997183844407
- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · labels: credit claiming · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2069500066084299205
- 2026-06-23 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2069533637251322081
- 2026-06-18 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2067410170607484952
- 2026-06-09 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2064169525466009998
- 2026-06-07 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2063433677682401790
- 2026-06-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2062720952157286662
- 2026-05-11 · Post on X · https://x.com/RepMSDawson/status/2053836990773088466

## Links

- Official site: https://www.rilegislature.gov/representatives/dawson/Pages/Biography.aspx
- Campaign site: https://www.dawsonforep.com/
- X: https://x.com/RepMSDawson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matthew.dawson.68
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mattforep/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-dawson-20b59b45

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/bffdb553-5c5c-403e-8e2c-47b34a7b50f5