10 Facts About Ronald Rice

Ronald L Rice was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1986 to 2022.

Ronald Rice served as a Sergeant in the US Marines from 1966 to 1970, in the Vietnam War.

Ronald Rice served 16 years on the Newark City Council, and he was the Deputy Mayor of Newark from 2002 until March 2006.

Ronald Rice never received less than two thirds of the vote in any of his Senate general elections, though he faced close challenges in the Democratic primaries from Laurence Brown in 1997, Assemblyman Willie B Brown in 2001, and Freeholder D Bilal Beasley in 2007.

Ronald Rice was one of only two Democrats in the Senate to vote no on two bills to legalize same-sex marriage in New Jersey in 2009 and 2012, the other twice-dissenting Democrat was Jeff Van Drew.

Ronald Rice was one of New Jersey's presidential electors in the 2004 presidential election, for Democratic candidate John Kerry.

Ronald Rice was a leading opponent of legislation in the 218th New Jersey Legislature to legalize marijuana in New Jersey, arguing that legalization would force urban neighborhoods to "struggle against the spread of 'marijuana bodegas' disguised as dispensaries".