Watson is a practicing attorney and member of the Rhode Island and American Bar Associations.

[5] Watson decided to run in Rhode Island's 22nd Senate District, based in East Greenwich and Warwick.

[6] After redistricting, he decided to run in the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1992 to the 43rd district.

[16] In February 2011, he made a joke in private meeting saying "I guess that if you are a Guatemalan gay man who likes to gamble and smokes marijuana, you probably think we're onto some good ideas here.

Watson was stopped in East Haven, Connecticut at a police checkpoint on Friday, April 22, 2011.

[21] After further analysis of his urine by the Connecticut Toxicological Lab, Watson's blood alcohol content was determined to be .07, below the legal limit of .08.

[22] On Jan 22, 2012 Robert Watson was arrested in South Kingston, RI for possession of marijuana and related paraphernalia.

[23] On November 6, 2017 Watson was arrested for attacking a bank and then breaking and entering into a neighbor's home.