Attorney General-elect Peter Kilmartin has announced that he is hanging on to some key staffers from the Patrick Lynch era - Deputy Attorney General Gerald Coyne, civil division chief James Lee, and criminal division chief Stacie Veroni.

But Kilmartin will face some pressure to differentiate from Lynch, whose gubernatorial ambitions leant a political feel to the office and whose ties to disgraced Central Falls Mayor Charles Moreau raised embarassing questions, fair or not, about the office's willingness to go after public corruption.

Rhode Island's Tea Party saw only modest gains in the legislature amid a national anti-Democratic wave, raising real questions about its staying power. But in a post-election message to supporters, the group vows to fight on, saying "the gloves must come off":

After Tuesday's election results, indeed you may feel surrounded by the entitled, the ignorant and apathetic, and the public sector political machine that rolls the hard working taxpayers in Rhode Island.

There will, doubtless, be those who read some shift in local or national politics into Lincoln Chafee's election as Rhode Island's first independent governor. But Chafee was, for all intents and purposes, the Democratic candidate in this race. And the party swept the state's other major offices and gave up little ground in the General Assembly.

The campaign of Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts made reference, today, to what might be its most potent argument against voting for her opponent, perennial candidate Robert Healey: he shouldn't be one heartbeat from the governor's office.

It's the sort of argument used against Sarah Palin two years ago. And it could have some appeal here.

The headline on the latest statewide poll, this one from WJAR, is the still-tight race for governor. But the biggest news may be the tightening contest for the lieutenant governor's chair, with incumbent Elizabeth Roberts clinging to a 48 to 43 percent lead over Robert Healey, who has long campaigned to abolish the office.

Interesting announcement yesterday from Democrats Peter Kilmartin and Gina Raimondo - running for attorney general and treasurer, respectivley - on a planned joint effort to crack down on pension fraud.

Plays to a public concern about corruption, of course, but also suggests that a frosty relationship between the two offices - current Attorney General Patrick Lynch squared off against Treasurer Frank Caprio for a time in the Democratic gubernatorial primary - could be in for a thaw.

The Rhode Island Tea Party has gone to great lengths to emphasize its nonpartisan approach to politics. But if its PAC's endorsements are any indication, the organization prefers partying with Republicans. Of its 40 endorsements in General Assembly races, just two go to Democrats - the conservative Jon Brien and Michael Pinga - and four to independents.

Primary Day is here and it's as good a time as any to take a look at the ProJo's coverage of what many have called Rhode Island's best political year in a generation.

The paper has had a few good scoops - witness columnist Ed Fitzpatrick's recent piece on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio meeting with the Republican National Committee in February amid speculation that he might run as a Republican.

The Providence Phoenix endorses in three primary races today - backing David Cicilline for Congress, Angel Taveras for mayor, and Joe Fernandez for attorney general.

Agree or disagree, we urge voters to get to the polls. This is a critical time for Rhode Island. And voters, as we note in the editorial, have a rare opportunity to reshape the upper echelons of the state's political leadership in a sweeping way.

Add pollster Joe Fleming to the list of political observers expecting low voter turnout for the September 14 primary. His data point: last week's North Providence special election, which drew just 13 percent of eligible voters.

The race was, of course, far from analogous to the upcoming primary. It was a special election, held in one town.

It's not quite Labor Day yet, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate says he'll be back on the air come Thursday with ads focused - surprise, surprise - on small business and job creation.

It'll be interesting to see how heavy his rotation will be. Patrick Lynch's decision to drop out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary - leaving the field to Caprio - was supposed to give candidates for Congress, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and Providence mayor a little more room to breath during primary season.

From the secretary of state's office:

This Friday afternoon at the State House, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will use a borrowed Lottery machine to determine the order in which candidates and political parties will appear on the ballots for the Sept. 14 statewide primary and the Nov. 2 general election.In a scene familiar to Rhode Islanders who watch the state’s daily lottery numbers selected on TV, candidates and parties will be assigned specially calibrated ping-pong balls.

It is a difficult time for Rhode Island's dominant Democratic Party: anti-incumbent sentiment is running high, fealty to party is on the decline, and gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio - for all his strengths - may be a less-than-attractive choice for those on the left of the party, particularly with independent Lincoln Chafee available as an alternative.

Erstwhile Moderate Party candidate for lieutenant governor Jean Ann Guliano is running for a state senate seat instead. From her statement:

Many have pointed out that my running for state office is admirable, but what we really need are committed people in the General Assembly, people who are going to advocate for taxpayers, our students and small businesses.

A couple of days ago, I noted in this space that Peter Kilmartin, Democratic candidate for attorney general, is making a labor-friendly play to crack down on employers who classify full-time workers as contractors in order to cut costs. Democratic rival Steve Archambault's campaign notes that their candidate put forth a similar proposal last month.