Providence Journal:
Katie Mulveney — January 31, 2026
Former state Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey’s nomination for a District Court seat sailed by the Senate Committee of the Judiciary on Jan. 28 with glowing praise from his former colleagues and state Supreme Court justices, both current and retired.
But a day later, some voters received a text message blast urging them to contact their state senators to vote against McCaffrey for the lifetime-tenure seat on the state’s busiest court.
“Call your state senator. Vote no on Mike McCaffrey for a lifetime judgeship,” it reads in all caps. “Pro NRA. Anti-Abortion. Anti-LGBTQ.”
Gov. Dan McKee’s nomination of McCaffrey, who for years led Senate judiciary as a state lawmaker, will go before the full Senate for a vote Feb. 5. And it’s proving to be one of the most controversial judicial picks in recent history, with opponents taking issue with his legislative track record on abortion and gay rights.
Nonetheless, Senate leadership is backing McCaffrey.
“I would encourage members of the public who are interested in getting an accurate depiction of Michael McCaffrey to watch this week’s Judiciary Committee hearing, particularly the testimony of Supreme Court Justice Erin Lynch Prata and former Supreme Court Justice Francis Flaherty,” Senate President Valarie Lawson said in an email.
McCaffrey responded late Friday to an email inquiry, saying “I have reviewed the text messages sent out relative to my appointment to the Court. Like you, I do not know where it originated from.”
He observed that the messages appear “to be political advocacy and a political expenditure, reportable to the Board of Elections.”
The text message went to districts that included Sen. Matthew LaMountain, D-Warwick, and Sen. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown. LaMountain, a former prosecutor, serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and threw his support behind the former majority leader.
The texts’ origin is unclear, with vocal opponents of McCaffrey’s nomination, such as The Womxn Project, saying they aren’t behind it. Former Sen. Gayle Goldin, who wrote an op-ed in The Boston Globe opposing McCaffrey, did not respond to an inquiry about the texts.
McCaffrey represented Warwick as a Democrat in the Senate from 2003 to 2023, serving as chair of Senate Judiciary Committee before being named Senate majority leader.
McCaffrey assured the committee on Jan. 28 that he would listen, act fairly and apply the law in every case to come before him.
“I have always treated everybody with respect, dignity,” McCaffrey said.
He has previously said that his thinking on social issues has evolved through the years.
“Like many public officials, my understanding of these issues has evolved significantly over the years. I have listened, learned, and grown – both personally and professionally – and I have family members who are members of these communities and I believe that growth is an essential quality in any judge,” he said in an email to The Journal last year.
“As both chairperson of the Judiciary Committee and majority leader and a member of the leadership team, legislation favoring these communities would not have proceeded if it were not for leadership,” McCaffrey continued.
