NEE-see. Politics editor + investigative reporter @wpri12 (CBS) in RI/MA. Adjunct @Wheaton. #GirlDad. Lucky husband of @KimKalunian
Providence, RI
- Tweets 187,694
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- Followers 38,969
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VIDEO: Just spoke with @USRepKeating who represents Martha's Vineyard - he says island officials told him Gov DeSantis sent a videographer with the migrants to capture footage of them on MV
Also praises @MassGovernor response
More of our interview at 4p on @wpri12 #mapoli #MA09
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BREAKING: @JoeKennedy just called @edmarkey and conceded, a person with direct knowledge tells me.
Congressman Kennedy will speak at his Watertown HQ around 10:30pm.
The first time a Kennedy has ever lost a congressional race in Massachusetts. #mapoli #MAsen
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My 93-year-old grandmother hasn’t left the house since last Sunday. She’s got plenty of food and supports - but it’s still lonely waiting out the virus, especially as a widow with no one else around.
Long story short: give your older relatives a ring. They’ll appreciate it.
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BREAKING: @RepJoeKennedy announces he now supports opening impeachment proceedings against Trump, breaking w Speaker Pelosi
"Times have changed," Kennedy said on Newsmakers this afternoon wpri.com/news/kennedy-i-now-…
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BREAKING: @SethMagaziner has won the #RI02 congressional race, @wpri12 projects wpri.com/election-results/
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WATCH: "This is shocking," @davidcicilline told us in a live interview on @wpri12 a short time ago.
"These are not patriots. These are domestic terrorists. They're extremists," he says. He's called for either Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment or Trump to be impeached.
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BREAKING: Samantha Anne Irene Nesi was born at 11:37 a.m., weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and melting her Dad's heart on sight. In awe of @KimKalunian and the amazing staff at @womenandinfants.
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Interesting: @SenJackReed is introducing a bill to move Election Day from the first Tuesday in November to the first full weekend.
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Fun fact: Pence is now headed to a fundraiser at a Newport mansion ... built by a guy who went down on the Titanic
The @mike_pence press corps is boarded on the plane and heading to Rhode Island soon- Pence will do a private, closed-door fundraiser there.
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A source familiar with the situation on Martha's Vineyard tells me the migrants got off the chartered plane with these flyers
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🚨 NEW: @SenWhitehouse takes on @SenatorDurbin in fight to be top Dem on Senate Judiciary
"I look forward to the question of succession on the Senate Judiciary Committee being decided by the caucus"
Comes amid grumbling over Durbin already being the whip wpri.com/news/path-opens-for…
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My mom would have turned 66 today; she passed away at 48.
Was thinking tonight about how much losing a parent as a teenager has shaped my adult worldview - none of us (none of us!) know how long we have.
So I say we should try to live worthwhile lives and be good to each other!
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NEW: Rhode Island is the only state in the country now doing enough coronavirus tests a day to safely reopen the economy, per incoming @HealthyBrown dean @ashishkjha and his colleagues (h/t @LC_briang for catching this) wpri.com/health/coronavirus/…
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Walz just wrapped up a 17-minute speech to several hundred donors here in Newport. Very warm in the no-A/C mansion Ochre Court.
Event raised over $500K and Walz said it will help Dems expand the map: "Wouldn't it be nice if they had to spend a little money down in Florida?"
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Spotted on Route 10 today: the group @MeidasTouch has purchased a billboard criticizing @AllanFungRI for opposing the Affordable Care Act #RI02
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INBOX: A joint statement from the RI Young Republicans *and* the RI Young Democrats condemning the killing of Charlie Kirk
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🚨 BREAKING: @gabeamo has won the #RI01 Democratic primary, @wpri12 projects wpri.com/election-results-20…
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Alarming tweet from the head of Rhode Island's biggest emergency room
I just finished the ED shift where I saw the MOST #COVID19 pts so far this year. More than Mar/Apr.
We are in a surge and only a change in our behavior can slow this. Just like in March we have to focus!
Please #SocialDistance
#WearAMask
#WashYourHands
AND ask friends
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CBO estimates monthly health insurance premium for a single 64-year-old who makes $26,500 would jump more than 700% (from $1,700 to $14,600)
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.@GovRaimondo is a big fan of Stacey Abrams; told me last month she was "heartbroken" when Abrams lost GA gov race. The two attended @YaleLawSch together in the '90s and Raimondo recalled Abrams as "a force of nature" there.
JUST IN: Stacey Abrams will deliver the Democrats' response to Trump's State of the Union
axios.com/stacey-abrams-deli…
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Republicans have to be nervous about #RI02 right now - @AllanFungRI is only up 49%-48% or less than 2,000 votes with *zero* mail ballots
Those mail ballots were over 60% Democrats ri.gov/election/results/2022…
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Forget that Kim's my wife. This is an ugly and *constant* form of harassment directed at female TV news reporters when they are out doing live reports. This specific, vulgar, sexist phrase.
Grow up, guys. Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?
To the young guy who just jumped into @KimKalunian's live shot to yell "F*** her right in the p****" as he marched in tonight's protest...
Why?
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How do you bring together staffers across America’s largest local TV station owner?
Accidentally blast your sick-call email to the entire company #PrayersForNick
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The most high-profile freshman in the House GOP caucus thinks @GinaRaimondo is a "radical Socialist," which will come as a surprise to the actual elected socialists in RI
Joe Biden announced he's nominating radical Socialist RI Gov Gina Raimondo for Commerce Secretary.
Raimondo's bio says that at the age of 56, her father's job was shipped off to China.
You can bet Joe Biden supported the VERY trade deal that shipped her father's job to China.
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All those images you’re seeing of last night’s horrible events in Providence?
They were captured by brave, dedicated Rhode Island reporters and photojournalists who put their own safety at risk all night to do their jobs. Many of them are back working today.
Thank you, guys. 💪
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.@Projo publisher drops the Dilbert comic strip over its cartoonist's public statements
At @Gannett, we lead with inclusion and strive to maintain a respectful and equitable environment for the diverse communities we serve nationwide. #TeamGannett
ALT Announcement: The USA TODAY Network will no longer publish the Dilbert comic due to recent discriminatory comments by its creator.
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The Walz event in Newport has now raised over $650,000, per one of the organizers. Their goal had been $500,000.
Longtime Democratic powerbroker Don Swietzer told me it was the easiest fundraiser he's ever done because donors were so enthusiastic about giving to the new ticket.
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Reacquainting ourselves now that the RI and MA primaries are in the rear view. She says I should have asked more debate Qs about pre-K
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BREAKING: @JimLangevin becomes 127th House Democrat to support impeachment hearings against Trump wpri.com/news/politics/lange…
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JUST IN: @DavidCicilline has sent a sharply worded letter to the CDC chief strongly urging him to alert states to travelers returning from *any* countries with COVID-19 outbreaks - not just China
RI got no heads up about the Italy travelers who brought the virus here, he notes
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Can't let the day come to a close without paying a little public tribute to my grandmother, who celebrated her 98th birthday today.
Born in the '20s and now back in the '20s - still as sharp as ever!
Here's a snap from our birthday dinner tonight. Very lucky to still have her.
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.@davidcicilline reacts to the presidential race call on Instagram
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My grandmother (who is 94) just called me to say she got her first vaccine shot today
I can’t believe the wave of relief I feel. I’m sure so many families feel it. Truly amazing what the scientists have done for all of us, as well as everyone running the vaccination clinics.
🙏
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JUST IN: Unfamiliar glowing orb spotted in the sky over Southern New England. Awaiting further details on what it might be
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NEW: Time for Dems to break glass in case of emergency in #RI02?
@Globe_RI poll out today finds GOP's @AllanFungRI leading by 8 pts - outside the MoE and even better than his 6-pt lead in our poll last week
Fung 45%
Magaziner 37%
Gilbert 5%
Undecided 13% wpri.com/?p=1407993
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Wow. Remember when President Biden came to Somerset in 2022 to tout a new wind-energy facility?
The company just pulled the plug on the project, three days before Biden leaves office.
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COMING UP: Senior Dem @SenWhitehouse says he was "horrified" by Thursday night's debate and it only reinforces why he's "been critical of the [Biden] campaign all along" - our interview at 6p on @wpri12
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As I drove across half of creation yesterday trying to find regular white twinkle lights to finish our porch, I had one thought:
I miss Benny's
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.@KimKalunian and I are watching UK news coverage of the political crisis... and the cat just came out of 10 Downing St. during a live shot
If even the cat has resigned, I don't think the prime minister can survive
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Happy Birthday to @KimKalunian - the best wife, the best mom, the best broadcaster, the best cook, and the best thing that ever happened to me.
(P.S. Sorry that I have to work on your birthday. cc @POTUS)
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BREAKING: @SethMagaziner opens up a sizable lead after mail ballots are added in #RI02 and 93% of Election Day precincts reporting
Magaziner 50.2%, Fung 47.0% wpri.com/election-results/
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BREAKING: @RI_BOE posts big batch of mail ballots in RI
POTUS race in RI *before* mail ballots
Biden 49.5% (163,043)
Trump 48.4% (159,304)
POTUS race in RI *after* mail ballots
Biden 58.9% (282,880)
Trump 39.1% (187,509)
wpri.com/election-results/
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"Walking with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., I burst out: 'Are your Republican colleagues sobered up or ashamed?'
He nodded yes. 'They’re playing with fire.'" sfchronicle.com/opinion/arti…
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Assigned my @Wheaton students the Breslin column on JFK’s gravedigger - they were totally wowed, 50+ years later. cc @DanBarryNYT @maggieNYT
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Hot take: it should be illegal to sell a subscription online if you don't also let the subscription be cancelled online
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BREAKING: PawSox owners are calling Governor Raimondo and Mayor Grebien this morning to let them know the team is moving to Worcester, multiple people familiar tell me.
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Update: @SenWhitehouse is also a "no" on cloture
Update: @SenJackReed is a "hard no" on cloture for the GOP resolution to fund the government (aka, will join a filibuster of the bill)
Still nothing from @SenWhitehouse
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.@RepJoeKennedy, increasingly a leading voice on immigration, out with a new statement on the migrant caravan: “Many may qualify for asylum, as enshrined in U.S. law. Those who do not will be sent back.”
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BREAKING: New @wpri12 @myRWU poll finds GOP positioned to win a congressional race in RI this fall for the first time since 1992 - but Dem hopes still alive
@AllanFungRI has kept the 6-pt lead he had over @SethMagaziner back in June #RI02 (w/ @TimWhiteRI) wpri.com/news/elections/12-n…
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🚨 BREAKING: RI keeps both US House seats, defying experts wpri.com/news/politics/ri-ke…
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My mom would have turned 65 today; we lost her when she was 48. (Cancer.)
Mom was quite a talented painter; the month before she died @RISD awarded her a certificate. (I believe RISD overlooked that she was technically one credit shy!)
Here are some morning glories she painted.
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My mom would have turned 69 today. She was only 48 when she died.
I mention it to remember her publicly and also to remind everyone (including me) we really don't know how much time we have. Tough to think about, but it's reality.
So call your mom tomorrow. (Your grandma, too!)
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Providence fire union president 👇 nitter.app/dsilva799/status/12690…
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Just a reminder - no Nesi's Notes edition this weekend due to the holiday. The column will be back next Saturday written by the great @Eli_Sherman while I'm out "on assignment"
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.@SenJackReed @SenatorDurbin & @SenatorMenendez tell the FBI chief they want regular briefings on foreign interference in the 2020 elections and more info released to the public politico.com/news/2020/08/07…
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Nursing homes deaths as % of all COVID-19 deaths
CT: 39%
MA: 50%
RI: 80% wpri.com/target-12/we-are-te…
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Striking data point: @SheldonforRI + @ChrisMurphyCT are the only New England senators who ran stronger than Harris
VERMONT
Harris 64.4%
Sanders 63.3% (-1.1)
MASS.
Harris 61.3%
Warren 59.6% (-1.7)
R.I.
Harris 55.4%
Whitehouse 59.8% (+4.4)
CONN.
Harris 56.2%
Murphy 58.3% (+2.1)
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NEWS: @CharlieBakerMA headlined a fundraiser in Boston last night to raise money for GOP #RI02 nominee @AllanFungRI, his campaign confirms, passing along this photo from the event
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Just rang up my grandmother, who is 94 next month, to ask if she saw the news about John McCain's mother dying at age 108.
"See," I said, "you may have 14 years to go!"
"Oh I know," she said. "I just bought my calendar for 2021 - I will have appointments I expect to keep."
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WATCH: @GovRaimondo strikes her toughest tone yet in a coronavirus briefing, clearly frustrated about Rhode Islanders not taking the "social distancing" seriously enough
Warns she'll do a statewide lockdown if it continues even though she doesn't want to wpri.com/health/coronavirus/…
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I've tweeted this a million times, but I'm going to keep tweeting it because it's true.
The coast-to-coast hollowing out of America's local newsrooms is a massive civic emergency.
It's a five-alarm fire raging in our public square.
And so much damage has already been done.
Awful news.
Another layoff of a great young RI reporter with tons of potential, this time @TheTimesofPawt.
Jonathan's last line here - asking people to support the same business that eliminated his job today - tells you everything about what really motivates reporters.
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Been covering @SenJackReed for 12 years - never seen such a string of impassioned statements from him
Tonight calls Trump's behavior "tyrannical"
"Pressuring a state elected official to doctor election results is beyond immoral, it is a stunning betrayal of the American people"
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Quick note to everybody reading:
Thank you.
We've gotten so much positive feedback and so many kind words from viewers and readers these last few weeks as we covered this. You don't know how much it means to all the reporters pulling long days. We appreciate your patience, too.
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STORY: 44 years after Gabriel Amo moved from Ghana to Rhode Island in search of a better life for his children, he just saw his son @gabeamo get elected to Congress
@JohnnyVillella + I visited the elder Amo at his PVD liquor store to hear his reflections wpri.com/news/politics/gabe-…
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NEW: @joekennedy says he has 4 asks as House Dems turn attention to passing a stimulus bill
1) Community health center $
2) Expanded sick pay
3) Cash payments to Americans
4) Aid to airlines etc
"this is unprecedented in modern American history" #mapoli wpri.com/health/coronavirus/…
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Telltale sign I didn't grow up in Rhode Island: when I order takeout and they ask for my phone number I always start by saying "401." Because I was growing up in Massachusetts when we had to start using our area codes for all calls. I feel like RI natives take "401" for granted.
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This COVID-19 crisis also feels like a major symbolic moment for women's leadership in RI - every day, two women are the unquestioned leaders of the state's fight against the virus. wpri.com/health/coronavirus/…
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After more than 40 years of Saturdays, today was my grandmother’s last day playing 4 o’clock Mass at St. Mark’s in North Attleboro. She’s 92, but she still plays wonderfully; there just aren’t enough priests left to continue the 4 o’clock service. She is an inspiration to me.
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Had the good fortune of marrying this lovely young lady two years ago today. Thanks for being the best wife a guy could ask for, @KimKalunian
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"Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Richard Blumenthal, along with other Democrats, have introduced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act. Among other things, it would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct within 180 days of the bill’s enactment."
Calls for an ethics code for the Supreme Court are not partisan. Both liberals and conservatives should want a Supreme Court that is above reproach, writes Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley. nyti.ms/43Uh1A8
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.@ScottGottliebMD: "The novel coronavirus is about to make its last major stand, so prepare for the most difficult six weeks yet. But things will look up as spring approaches." wsj.com/articles/turning-the…
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WATCH: @GovRaimondo on @NYGovCuomo
"If he feels it's important for him to take credit go ahead. I'm going to keep working here to keep Rhode Islanders safe"
"I will say I think it's odd Governor Cuomo is focused on this sort of politics at a time when we're fighting disasters"
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.@davidcicilline attended the Twitter seminar for, ahem, more senior House Dems that @AOC held yesterday politico.com/story/2019/01/1…
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A crushing night for @AllanFungRI and his supporters. This is the third straight midterm election he was at the top of the GOP ticket in RI, and the third straight loss #RI02 wpri.com/news/elections/rhod…
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My Father's Day thought: Millennials' healthy impulse to correct overly rosy portrayals of parenthood has now gone too far and is making would-be parents too anxious.
Being a Dad is amazing and highly recommended!
Hard work - but that's true of most worthwhile things in life.
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This is funny: @SenJackReed was spotted working the concession stand at his daughter's soccer game
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"Charlie McCarthy is now in the Smithsonian. Ms. Bergen wrote about her shock when her father left money in his will to her 'older, all-powerful brother' — the dummy — and not to her." nytimes.com/2020/12/05/style…
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.@MikeBloomberg bristled when I asked about fears he may split the moderate vote, hurting Biden or Buttigieg
"Am I not as important to this country? I’ve been an American for longer than Mayor Pete has. I’ve been an American for longer than Joe Biden has" wpri.com/news/politics/vp-ra…
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Striking how lockstep the POTUS vote was in RI and CT this year
BIDEN
• RI: 59.4%
• CT: 59.3%
• MA: 65.3%
TRUMP
• RI: 39.1%
• CT: 39.1%
• MA: 32.5%
Southern New England has 22 EVs combined - more than Georgia or Ohio
(cc @capitolwatch)
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