Senator Cynthia Mendes is a Cape Verdean and Puerto Rican state senator from East Providence. Cynthia has worked in healthcare, mentored young Cape Verdean women as well as volunteered helping those who are homeless. Her great-grandfather Henrique Mendes was the captain of the historical "schooner Ernestina," which brought many of Rhode Island’s Cape Verdean families who immigrated here. In 2020, members of her community encouraged her to run for office. Since being elected to the Senate, Cynthia has fought tirelessly for reproductive rights, government transparency, racial justice, universal healthcare, common-sense gun legislation, and climate action. She is now running for Lt. Governor of Rhode Island alongside Savannah DaCruz for State Rep so that they can expand and protect abortion access, pass a Green New Deal to protect our lungs and planet, and pass Medicare for All to make healthcare a human right in Rhode Island.

Savannah DaCruz is a Cape Verdean artist from Providence RI. She has worked with our youth in public schools as a City Year AmeriCorps member and currently works for a local resettlement agency helping immigrants and refugees settle into Rhode Island. Savannah grew up experiencing eviction and watching her late mother - a single parent of 6 - work a minimum-wage job and struggle to provide basic necessities. She is running for office to end the cycle of eviction and poverty. Savannah and Cynthia are fighting to increase the minimum wage, build 10,000 affordable homes and cap rent increases at 2% a year.