Aaron Guckian speaks outside the Board of Elections in Cranston after winning the Republican nomination for governor, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (WJAR)
(WJAR) —Infighting among Rhode Island Republicans now leads to a complaint filed against the party’s gubernatorial candidate by the woman he defeated in the primary last month.
Elaine Pelino wrote on Facebook Tuesday she is filing a complaint with state election officials “against Aaron Guckian over his failure to disclose private jet travel. He has had weeks to amend his filings but has not done so. I believe the omission was intentional and violates campaign finance law.”
Elaine Pelino is shown during a Republican primary debate at the Providence Performing Arts Center, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (WJAR)
The Providence Journal previously reported Guckian’s campaign acknowledged private plane travel was involved in part of a trip Guckian took to Florida in late September to attend a fundraising event that was supposed to be headlined by Eric and Lara Trump, but the travel cost had not been disclosed on Guckian’s latest filing a week later.
Guckian’s campaign wrote to NBC 10 Tuesday, “You can’t report anything you have not been billed for yet. We have not received an invoice from the company that provided the transportation. We have requested the invoice. We have advised the Board of Elections that an invoice has been requested by the campaign. When we receive the invoice, it will be paid for by the campaign. At that point, our report will be amended to reflect the payment to the aviation company that provided the private transportation.”
The campaign also sent a statement from Guckian, writing, “I’m focused on the debate tonight and the people currently in the race.”
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In response to a question about the complaint, the Rhode Island Board of Elections spokesperson sent NBC 10 a statement reading, “All Board of Elections campaign finance investigations are confidential unless or until the Board finds there is a reason to believe a violation has occurred.”
Pelino wrote in her social media post, “What concerns me most is that Guckian continues raising money from Republicans, including seniors on fixed incomes, without disclosing whether their contributions could ultimately be used to pay off expenses associated with his private jet travel.”
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