2018 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
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| Turnout | 47.69% | ||||||||||||||||
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    Whitehouse: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Flanders: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Tie: 40–50% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Rhode Island |
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The 2018 United States Senate election in Rhode Island took place on November 6, 2018, in order to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Rhode Island. Incumbent Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican Robert Flanders by a margin of twenty-three percent.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Sheldon Whitehouse, incumbent senator[1]
Eliminated in primary
- Patty Joy Fontes, progressive activist
Declined
- Lincoln Chafee, former governor of Rhode Island and former U.S. senator[2][3]
Polling
Hypothetical polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sheldon Whitehouse | Lincoln Chafee | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALG Research (D-Whitehouse)[4] | May 7–14, 2018 | 329 | ± 5.5% | 72% | 14% | 14% |
Results
Whitehouse
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent) | 89,140 | 76.79% | |
| Democratic | Patricia J. Fontes | 26,947 | 23.21% | |
| Total votes | 116,087 | 100.00% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominated
- Robert Flanders, former Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court[6]
Eliminated in primary
- Rocky De La Fuente, businessman and perennial candidate[7]
Withdrew
- Robert Nardolillo, state representative[8][9]
Endorsements
Robert Flanders
- Organizations
- Rhode Island Coalition for Israel[10]
Results
Flanders
- 80–90%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert G. Flanders Jr. | 26,543 | 87.70% | |
| Republican | Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente | 3,722 | 12.30% | |
| Total votes | 30,265 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 9, 2018
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[11] | Safe D | October 26, 2018 |
| Inside Elections[12] | Safe D | November 1, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[13] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| Fox News[14] | Likely D | July 9, 2018 |
| CNN[15] | Safe D | July 12, 2018 |
| RealClearPolitics[16] | Safe D | June 2018 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sheldon Whitehouse (D) | Robert Flanders (R) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleming & Associates[17] | October 20–24, 2018 | 416 | ± 4.8% | 55% | 36% | – | 7% |
| SocialSphere[18] | October 5–9, 2018 | 502 | – | 56% | 32% | – | 12% |
| University of New Hampshire[19] | September 27 – October 6, 2018 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 57% | 33% | 3% | 6% |
| Fleming & Associates[20] | September 14–17, 2018 | 420 | ± 4.8% | 54% | 35% | – | 10% |
| SocialSphere[21] | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 54% | 32% | – | 14% |
Hypothetical polling
with Robert Nardolillo
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Sheldon Whitehouse (D) | Robert Nardolillo (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SocialSphere[21] | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 53% | 31% | 16% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent) | 231,477 | 61.44% | −3.37% | |
| Republican | Robert Flanders | 144,421 | 38.33% | +3.36% | |
| Write-in | 840 | 0.22% | N/A | ||
| Total votes | 376,738 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By county
| Sheldon Whitehouse Democratic | Robert Flanders Republican | Others | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Bristol | 13,441 | 63.3% | 7,757 | 36.5% | 48 | 0.2% |
| Kent | 36,704 | 54.3% | 30,749 | 45.5% | 145 | 0.2% |
| Newport | 21,453 | 63.6% | 12,228 | 36.2% | 61 | 0.2% |
| Providence | 126,669 | 64.1% | 70,495 | 35.7% | 476 | 0.2% |
| Washington | 33,071 | 58.7% | 23,189 | 41.1% | 110 | 0.2% |
By congressional district
Whitehouse won both congressional districts.[23]
| District | Whitehouse | Flanders | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 66% | 34% | David Cicilline |
| 2nd | 57% | 42% | James Langevin |
References
- ^ Gregg, Katherine (December 22, 2016). "Sen. Whitehouse: 'Plenty of opportunity for us to have fights with the president'". The Providence Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
- ^ Kalunian, Kim; Towne, Shaun; Nesi, Ted (April 25, 2018). "Chafee will 'very likely' challenge Whitehouse for US Senate". WPRI-TV. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ Donnis, Ian (May 29, 2018). "Chafee Decides Against U.S. Senate Run In 2018". Rhode Island Public Radio. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ ALG Research (D-Whitehouse)
- ^ a b "United States Senate primary election in Rhode Island, 2018".
- ^ Gregg, Katherine (November 16, 2017). "Former Supreme Court Justice Flanders announces run for U.S. Senate". The Providence Journal.
- ^ "Winners and losers as RI Board of Elections decides on nomination paper objections". Uprise RI. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Gregg, Katherine (May 15, 2017). "GOP's Nardolillo declares for U.S. Senate". The Providence Journal. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
- ^ Amaral, Brian (June 28, 2018). "R.I. Rep. Nardolillo drops out of U.S. Senate race". The Providence Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
- ^ "RI Coalition for Israel Endorses Flanders for Senate". GoLocalProv. September 10, 2018.
- ^ "2018 Senate Race Ratings for October 26, 2018". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "2018 Senate Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "2018 Crystal Ball Senate race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- ^ "2018 Senate Power Rankings". Fox News. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
- ^ "Key Races: Senate". Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Battle for the Senate 2018". Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ Fleming & Associates
- ^ SocialSphere
- ^ University of New Hampshire
- ^ Fleming & Associates Archived 2018-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b SocialSphere
- ^ "United States Senate general election in Rhode Island, 2018".
- ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
External links
- Candidates at Vote Smart
- Candidates at Ballotpedia
- Campaign finance at FEC
- Campaign finance at OpenSecrets
Official campaign websites