Victor Mellor

Mellor grew up in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and graduated from Woonsocket High School.[1][2] He served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Sergeant and explosives-detection dog handler stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, including repeated temporary duty with the Presidential Helicopter Squadron (HMX-1) and the Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST), according to his Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.[1] After his military service he built a career in business: Ocean State Media reported that he found success in the construction business after moving to Florida, and Ballotpedia lists his career experience as business owner and president. Rhode Island Current describes him as an entrepreneur and former Marine who moved back to Rhode Island in 2025 after several decades in Florida.[1][2][5] Mellor is a founding member of the Great American Health Alliance (GAHA), which he says works with medical professionals on strategies to lower the cost of medical care.[1]

Ocean State Media reported, citing a Providence Journal report, that Mellor was present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. He held a rally in Warwick on March 7, 2026, to promote his campaign.[2] He won the September 9, 2026, Republican primary with 58.6% of the vote (8,404 votes) over Stephen Skoly, and faced Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner in the November 3 general election.[4][1][5] Mellor reports endorsements from Veterans for America First and the Rhode Island Fraternal Order of Police, according to his Ballotpedia survey.[1] During the campaign, he said he was running on jobs and manufacturing, parental rights, energy costs and healthcare costs.[1][2][4][5] He received 37.8% of the vote to Seth Magaziner's 61.9%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[3] The Boston Globe reported that court records show Mellor faced felony assault charges over an August 1994 incident in Woonsocket involving his then-wife and was charged with domestic battery in Florida in 1998 over an accusation that he punched a woman; Mellor said the charges in both cases were dropped.[9]