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5/7/2026
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Blazejewski elected House Speaker
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 STATE HOUSE — Rep. Christopher R. Blazejewski was elected Speaker by the Rhode Island House of Representatives today.
House members voted 65-10 for Speaker Blazejewski (D-Dist. 2, Providence), who previously served as the chamber’s Majority Leader.
During a caucus today, Democratic representatives also elected Rep. Katherine S. Kazarian (D-Dist. 63, East Providence, Pawtucket) to serve as Majority Leader.
“I’m honored and deeply grateful to have secured the overwhelming support of my House colleagues to serve as Speaker, and for Rep. Katherine Kazarian to serve as Majority Leader,” said Speaker Blazejewski. “We have difficult work ahead, with no easy answers, but the people who sent us here to represent them deserve nothing less than our full commitment. As we all roll up our sleeves and get to work, I promise that I will always listen, be fair, have an open door and an open mind, and I will ensure that every voice in this chamber is heard.”
In his remarks to the chamber, Speaker Blazejewski thanked former Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi for changing the culture of the House, “opening the doors wider, bringing more voices in, and reminding all of us that good government and good policy is built on respect and collaboration. The standard you set – of fairness, of accessibility, of accountability to the people of this state – is the foundation we are all standing on today. Rhode Island is better for your leadership, and so are we.”
Speaker Blazejewski was first elected in November 2010 and represents District 2 in Providence. He was elected by his Democratic colleagues to serve as the House Majority Leader in November 2020, a position to which he was re-elected in November 2022 and November 2024. As a representative, Speaker Blazejewski has championed housing affordability, environmental protection, public education, civil rights, senior services, health care, and economic opportunity for working families.
Speaker Blazejewski cosponsored and led passage of the landmark Act on Climate, requiring the state to reach net zero emissions based on current climate science and providing for an equitable and just transition and inclusion of environmental justice communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change; the Reproductive Privacy Act, which protects reproductive rights in Rhode Island by codifying in state law the privacy rights and reproductive freedoms in Roe v. Wade; and the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, which provides access to reproductive health care for all Rhode Islanders regardless of where they get their health insurance.
He also cosponsored and led passage of laws prohibiting high capacity firearms magazines, banning firearms from school grounds, and banning untraceable firearms – “ghost guns” and 3D-printed guns – in Rhode Island. Additionally, Speaker Blazejewski led passage of legislation aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs and treatments, including codifying the federal Affordable Care Act into Rhode Island law, limiting out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs and insulin, and making HIV-prevention medications free and accessible to qualifying patients. He also sponsored laws creating the Deborah DeBare Domestic Violence Prevention Fund and expanding the crime victims' compensation fund to assist domestic violence survivors and their children and families.
A lifelong Rhode Islander, Speaker Blazejewski graduated from Cumberland High School in 1998. He graduated from Harvard University in 2002 and received his law degree from Harvard Law in 2005. An attorney, he works for Sherin and Lodgen LLP.
The nominating speech for Speaker Blazejewski was given by Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport). The seconding speech was delivered by Rep. David A. Bennett (D-Dist. 20, Warwick, Cranston).
For more information, contact:
Larry Berman, Communications Director for the Office of the Speaker
State House Room 322
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 447-2655
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