For the first time, a Dominican-American ran in a gubernatorial primary election in Rhode Island, and a Guatemalan-American will compete to become mayor in Providence, Rhode Island in the November elections.

Harvard educated mayor of Providence, Angel Taveras, didn't win the Democratic nomination to run in the gubernatorial elections in November. But he did secure 29.2 percent of the vote, or 35,803 votes against the well-funded campaign of Gina Raimondo, who won the nomination with 42.2 percent, or 51,770 votes.

"I may not be the nominee, but I want all Rhode Islanders to know, that our state is worth fighting for ... Thank you for giving me the tremendous honor of sharing my vision for Rhode Island and allowing me to spend time with you and your family," Taveras told a roomful of his supporters in Providence on Tuesday night.

Taveras hasn't said what his next move is, but the American lawyer is the first Latino mayor of Providence and the third-elected and fourth-serving Dominican-American mayor in the United States. Taveras won 49 percent of the vote in in a four-way race, winning 83 percent of the vote to become Providence's mayor in 2011.

Contending to become the second Latino mayor of Providence is law professor and former housing court Judge Jorge O. Elorza. He won the Democratic primary on Tuesday and will face former mayor and twice-convicted felon Buddy Cianci in November.

It was a close competition, but Jorge Elorza won with 49 percent of the vote with 10,562 votes against his competitor Michael Solomon wth 43 percent with 9,190 votes. Solomon is also the son of immigrants -- his parents came from Lebanon.

"No one thought this was possible, no one gave us a chance," Elorza told a room full of 150 supporters when the primary results came in.

Buddy Cianci is running as independent and last held office in 2002 before going to prison after being convicted of corruption. Cianci had a two-decade long political career in Providence, and has a network of supporters.

Asked about running against a veteran politician, Elorza told reporters, "I grew up on Cranston Street in the West End. And I'm from the toughest streets here in the city. And you don't get to this point without having that fortitude."

Elorza is the son of Guatemalan immigrants who worked in the city's factories and was rejected by every four-year college he applied to. He went to Community Island, then the University of Rhode Island where he received an honors in a degree in accounting before going to Harvard University for his law degree.

Elorza has a coalition of voters, including ties to wealth around Brown University, and from the city's growing Latino community.

The Republican nominee in the mayoral race is Dan Harrop.

Providence, Rhode Island has a population of over 177,000 and is ethnically and racially diverse with 49 percent white and 38.1 percent Hispanic with roots in Puerto Rico, Columbia, Brazil, Dominican Republic and Guatemala, joined by African-Americans at 16 percent. It was one of first industrialized cities in the U.S.