United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 7
- Early voting: N/A
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
2020 →
← 2014
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U.S. Senate, Rhode Island |
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Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
Election details |
Filing deadline: June 27, 2018 |
Primary: September 12, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent: Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat) |
How to vote |
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Rhode Island |
Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
Ballotpedia analysis |
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018 |
See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd Rhode Island elections, 2018 U.S. Congress elections, 2018 U.S. Senate elections, 2018 U.S. House elections, 2018 |
Voters in Rhode Island elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 6, 2018.
The election filled the Class 1 Senate seat held by Sheldon Whitehouse (D). He was first elected in 2006.
Candidates and election results
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island
Incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse defeated Robert Flanders Jr. in the general election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Sheldon Whitehouse (D) | 61.4 | 231,477 | |
Robert Flanders Jr. (R) | 38.3 | 144,421 | ||
Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 840 |
Total votes: 376,738 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Raymond McKay (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island
Incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse defeated Patricia Fontes in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on September 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Sheldon Whitehouse | 76.8 | 89,140 | |
Patricia Fontes | 23.2 | 26,947 |
Total votes: 116,087 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island
Robert Flanders Jr. defeated Roque De La Fuente in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on September 12, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Robert Flanders Jr. | 87.7 | 26,543 | |
Roque De La Fuente | 12.3 | 3,722 |
Total votes: 30,265 | ||||
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Key votes
Key votes cast by Whitehouse
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) cast the following key votes—votes that help citizens understand where their legislators stand on major policy issues—during the 115th Congress, which convened on January 3, 2017, and adjourned on January 3, 2019.
Click show to see key votes for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) → |
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Key votes: 115th Congress, 2017-2018
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Noteworthy events
Brett Kavanaugh confirmation vote
- See also: Supreme Court vacancy, 2018: An overview
On October 6, 2018, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fifty senators voted to confirm Kavanaugh's nomination, 48 voted against, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted present. A simple majority was required to confirm Kavanaugh.[41]
Sen. Whitehouse voted against Kavanaugh confirmation on October 6, 2018. He said in a statement that Kavanaugh "holds a narrow view of constitutional protections for women, a troubling affinity for dark money, and a worrying disregard for precedent and important judicial principles. Also, he sides – nine times out of ten – with big Republican corporate and special interests over regular Americans. ... Then came credible allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh. ... We then learned the true measure of Kavanaugh. His bitter, partisan conspiracy theories ought to disqualify any nominee to the bench, let alone to the highest court in the land."[42]
Flanders criticized Whitehouse's questioning of Kavanaugh during a hearing regarding sexual misconduct allegations one week prior to the confirmation vote. On October 6, Flanders said, "I'm here to charge Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse with abusing his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and with disgracing that seat through his actions and statements throughout the tumultuous Kavanagh hearings."[43]
2016 Pivot Counties
Rhode Island featured one congressional district that intersects with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. The partisan makeup of the 108 congressional districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was more Republican than the partisan breakdown of the U.S. House. Of the 108 congressional districts that had at least one Pivot County, 63 percent were held by a Republican incumbent, while 55.4 percent of U.S. House seats were won by a Republican in the 2016 elections.[44]
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sheldon Whitehouse | Democratic Party | $6,734,750 | $6,783,166 | $768,760 | As of December 31, 2018 |
Robert Flanders Jr. | Republican Party | $1,211,500 | $1,211,223 | $0 | As of December 31, 2018 |
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
Campaign themes
Sheldon Whitehouse
Whitehouse's campaign website stated the following:
“ |
Protecting Social Security & Medicare Lowering Health Care Costs Creating Good Jobs, Rebuilding Infrastructure, & Supporting Small Businesses I’ve helped bring millions of federal dollars back to Rhode Island to create construction jobs and invest our roads, bridges, and ports. I created a fund to help communities near the ocean meet the unique challenges facing coastal infrastructure. And I’m calling for bipartisan action on a $1 trillion investment in our national infrastructure to help American companies compete in the global economy. Preventing & Treating Addiction Standing Up to Special Interests Protecting the Environment I’ve authored legislation that would put a price on carbon pollution, reducing the emissions that drive climate change and returning all the money collected back to the American people. Democrats and Republicans who are serious about tackling climate change agree that a system like the one I’ve proposed is our best bet for curbing carbon pollution. Fixing Our Immigration System & Ensuring Justice It is long past time for Congress to enact common sense gun safety measures like universal background checks and renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons. I’m going to keep fighting for those changes until we’ve eliminated the scourge of senseless gun violence in America. I’ve also been working with colleagues across the aisle to pass much-needed reforms to our criminal justice system. Creating Opportunity Through Education Supporting Veterans |
” |
—Sheldon Whitehouse’s campaign website (2018)[46] |
Robert Flanders Jr.
Flanders' campaign website stated the following:
“ | ” | |
—Bob Flanders’ campaign website (2018)[47] |
Other 2018 statewide elections
This race took place in one of twenty-two states that held elections for both governor and U.S. Senate in 2018.
A table of where these elections occurred, the names of incumbents prior to the 2018 elections, and links to our coverage of these races can be viewed by clicking "[show]" on the banner below:
Wave election analysis
- See also: Wave elections (1918-2016)
The term wave election is frequently used to describe an election cycle in which one party makes significant electoral gains. How many seats would Republicans have had to lose for the 2018 midterm election to be considered a wave election?
Ballotpedia examined the results of the 50 election cycles that occurred between 1918 and 2016—spanning from President Woodrow Wilson's (D) second midterm in 1918 to Donald Trump's (R) first presidential election in 2016. We define wave elections as the 20 percent of elections in that period resulting in the greatest seat swings against the president's party.
Applying this definition to U.S. Senate elections, we found that Republicans needed to lose seven seats for 2018 to qualify as a wave election.
The chart below shows the number of seats the president's party lost in the 10 U.S. Senate waves from 1918 to 2016. Click here to read the full report.
U.S. Senate wave elections | ||||||
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Year | President | Party | Election type | Senate seats change | Senate majority[48] | |
1932 | Hoover | R | Presidential | -13 | D (flipped) | |
1958 | Eisenhower | R | Second midterm | -12 | D | |
1946 | Truman | D | First midterm | -10 | R (flipped) | |
1980 | Carter | D | Presidential | -9 | R (flipped) | |
2014 | Obama | D | Second midterm | -9 | R (flipped) | |
1942 | Roosevelt | D | Third midterm | -8 | D | |
2008 | George W. Bush | D | Presidential | -8 | D | |
1926 | Coolidge | R | First midterm[49] | -7 | R | |
1930 | Hoover | R | First midterm | -7 | R | |
1986 | Reagan | R | Second midterm | -7 | D (flipped) |
Election history
2014
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
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Democratic | Jack Reed Incumbent | 70.6% | 223,675 | |
Republican | Mark Zaccaria | 29.2% | 92,684 | |
N/A | Write-in | 0.2% | 539 | |
Total Votes | 316,898 | |||
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections |
2012
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse Incumbent | 64.8% | 271,034 | |
Republican | B. Barrett Hinckley, III | 35% | 146,222 | |
Write-in | N/A | 0.2% | 933 | |
Total Votes | 418,189 | |||
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" |
State overview
Partisan control
This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Rhode Island heading into the 2018 elections.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2016 elections, Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats in Rhode Island.
- Democrats held two of two U.S. House seats in Rhode Island.
State executives
- As of September 2018, Democrats held five of 12 state executive positions and the remaining seven positions were officially nonpartisan.
- The governor of Rhode Island was Democrat Gina Raimondo. The state held elections for governor on November 6, 2018.
State legislature
- Democrats controlled both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly. They had a 64-11 majority in the state House and a 33-4 majority in the state Senate.
Trifecta status
- Rhode Island was under a Democratic state government trifecta, meaning Democrats held the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.
2018 elections
- See also: Rhode Island elections, 2018
Rhode Island held elections for the following positions in 2018:
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House
- Governor
- Other state executive
- State Senate
- State House
- Special state legislative
Demographics
Demographic data for Rhode Island | ||
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Rhode Island | U.S. | |
Total population: | 1,055,607 | 316,515,021 |
Land area (sq mi): | 1,034 | 3,531,905 |
Race and ethnicity** | ||
White: | 81.1% | 73.6% |
Black/African American: | 6.5% | 12.6% |
Asian: | 3.2% | 5.1% |
Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
Two or more: | 2.8% | 3% |
Hispanic/Latino: | 13.6% | 17.1% |
Education | ||
High school graduation rate: | 86.2% | 86.7% |
College graduation rate: | 31.9% | 29.8% |
Income | ||
Median household income: | $56,852 | $53,889 |
Persons below poverty level: | 17.3% | 11.3% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Rhode Island. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. |
As of July 2016, Rhode Island's three largest cities were Providence (pop. est. 180,000), Cranston (pop. est. 81,000), and Warwick (pop. est. 81,000).[50]
State election history
This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Rhode Island from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Rhode Island State Board of Elections.
Historical elections
Presidential elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Rhode Island every year from 2000 to 2016.
Election results (President of the United States), Rhode Island 2000-2016 | |||||
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Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
2016 | Hillary Clinton | 54.4% | Donald Trump | 38.9% | 15.5% |
2012 | Barack Obama | 62.7% | Mitt Romney | 35.2% | 27.5% |
2008 | Barack Obama | 62.9% | John McCain | 35.1% | 27.8% |
2004 | John Kerry | 59.4% | George W. Bush | 38.7% | 20.7% |
2000 | Al Gore | 61.0% | George W. Bush | 31.9% | 29.1% |
U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Rhode Island from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.
Election results (U.S. Senator), Rhode Island 2000-2016 | |||||
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Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
2014 | John Reed | 70.6% | Mark Zaccaria | 29.3% | 41.3% |
2012 | Sheldon Whitehouse | 64.8% | Barry Hinckley | 35.0% | 29.8% |
2008 | John Reed | 73.1% | Bob Tingle | 26.5% | 46.6% |
2006 | Sheldon Whitehouse | 53.4% | Lincoln Chafee | 46.3% | 7.1% |
2002 | John Reed | 78.4% | Bob Tingle | 21.6% | 56.8% |
2000 | Lincoln Chafee | 56.9% | Robert Weygand | 41.2% | 15.7% |
Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016
This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Rhode Island.
Election results (Governor), Rhode Island 2000-2016 | |||||
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Year | First-place candidate | First-place candidate votes (%) | Second-place candidate | Second-place candidate votes (%) | Margin of victory (%) |
2014 | Gina Raimondo | 40.7% | Allan Fung | 36.2% | 4.5% |
2010 | Lincoln Chafee | 36.1% | John Robitaille | 33.6% | 2.5% |
2006 | Don Carcieri | 51.0% | Charles Forgerty | 48.9% | 2.1% |
2002 | Don Carcieri | 54.8% | Myrth York | 45.2% | 9.6% |
Congressional delegation, 2000-2016
This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Rhode Island in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.
Trifectas, 1992-2017
A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.
Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2024
Fifteen years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
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Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | I | I | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2018
- United States Senate elections, 2018
- Sheldon Whitehouse
- United States Senate election in Rhode Island (September 12, 2018 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Rhode Island (September 12, 2018 Republican primary)
Footnotes
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment with an Amendment)," December 18, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2)," December 11, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Nomination (Confirmation Brett M. Kavanaugh, of Maryland, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," October 6, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture Re: Brett M. Kavanaugh to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," October 5, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 2, As Amended)," June 28, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1959)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1958 As Modified)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1948)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 1955)," February 15, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to the Consideration of S. 2311)," January 29, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (McConnell Amdt. No. 667)," July 28, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Amendment (Paul Amdt. No. 271 )," July 26, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: Amdt. No. 270)," July 25, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Proceed (Motion to Proceed to H.R. 1628)," July 25, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Neil M. Gorsuch, of Colorado, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," April 7, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Cloture Motion (Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch of Colorado, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," April 6, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Decision of the Chair (Shall the Decision of the Chair Stand as the Judgment of the Senate?)," April 6, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Neil M. Gorsuch, of Colorado, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States)," April 6, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 6157)," September 18, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Conference Report (Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5895)," September 12, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H. R. 6157 As Amended)," August 23, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 5895 As Amended)," June 25, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625)," March 23, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1892 with an Amendment (SA 1930))," February 9, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 695)," February 8, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment with Further Amendment)," January 22, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 195)," January 22, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 195)," January 19, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1370)," December 21, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion to Recede from the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1 and Concur with Further Amendment ," December 20, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Joint Resolution (H.J. Res. 123)," December 7, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 1 As Amended )," December 2, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Concurrent Resolution (H. Con. Res. 71 As Amended)," October 19, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amdt. to the Senate Amdt. with an Amdt. No. 808 to H.R. 601)," September 7, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senate, "On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 244)," May 4, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On the Joint Resolution (S.J. Res. 54, As Amended), December 13, 2018
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 2810 As Amended)," September 18, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "Senate sends $692B defense policy bill to Trump's desk," November 15, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 3364)," July 27, 2017
- ↑ Senate.gov, "On Passage of the Bill (S. 722 As Amended)," June 15, 2017
- ↑ New York Times, "Kavanaugh Is Sworn In After Close Confirmation Vote in Senate Video," October 6, 2018
- ↑ United States Senate, Sheldon Whitehouse, "Whitehouse Statement on Kavanaugh," October 6, 2018
- ↑ WPRI, "RI delegation reacts to Kavanaugh confirmation," October 8, 2018
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Sheldon Whitehouse’s campaign website, “Priorities,” accessed November 1, 2018
- ↑ Bob Flanders’ campaign website, “Issues,” accessed November 1, 2018
- ↑ Denotes the party that had more seats in the U.S. House following the election.
- ↑ Calvin Coolidge's (R) first term began in August 1923 after the death of President Warren Harding (R), who was first elected in 1920. Before he had his first midterm in 1926, Coolidge was re-elected as president in 1924.
- ↑ Rhode Island Demographics, "Rhode Island Cities by Population," accessed September 8, 2018
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