How did Brown alumni fare in last fall’s midterm elections? In perhaps the most surprising victory, Republican Donald Carcieri ’65, the former head of Cookson America, became the first Brown graduate elected Rhode Island governor since Philip Noel ’54, who served from 1973 to 1977. (Carcieri defeated fellow Republican James Bennett ’79 in a nasty gubernatorial primary.) Carcieri, who aside from U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee ’75 is the lone Republican to hold statewide office in Rhode Island, will have to work with the Ocean State’s new attorney general, Democrat Patrick Lynch ’87, who has been a lobbyist, state prosecutor, and Brown basketball star.

In the most lopsided race, David Cicilline ’83 (see “On the Campaign Trail,” September/October), whose campaign was managed by Christopher Bizzacco ’03, captured 84 percent of the vote to succeed Vincent A. Cianci Jr. as mayor of Providence.

Although Rhode Island was friendly political territory for Brown-spawned politicians, voters in other states were somewhat less accommodating. Among the results:

• Democrat Jan Schneider ’68 lost her bid for the U.S. House of Representatives to former Florida secretary of state and Gore/Lieberman nemesis Katherine Harris. Also in Florida, Orlando state senator John “Buddy” Dyer ’80 was foiled in his attempt to keep the attorney general’s office in Democratic hands.

• Stephanie Sanchez ’89 lost her second straight bid to unseat Republican Congressman Christopher Says in Connecticut’s 4th District.

• Republican Jack E. Robinson ’82, who in 2000 waged an unsuccessful campaign to unseat U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, lost his race for Massachusetts secretary of state.

• Democrat Thomas Perez ’83 became the first Latino to win a seat on the Montgomery County (Md.) Council.

• Hannah Pingree ’98 was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, joining fellow Democrats William Norbert ’90, the outgoing majority whip; Glenn Cummings ’84 M.A.T.; and Janet McLaughlin ’68, all of whom were reelected. Republican Michael Healy ’64, however, lost a close race for his first term in the Maine state house.

• And in West Virginia, Republican Steve Harrison ’90, a five-term member of the state’s House of Delegates, defeated an incumbent to win a seat in the state senate.