2018_United_States_Senate_election_in_Rhode_Island
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.
For related races, see 2018 United States Senate elections.
Quick Facts Turnout, Nominee ...
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| Turnout | 47.69% | ||||||||||||||||
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 County results Municipality results Precinct ResultsWhitehouse: 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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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
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Sheldon Whitehouse |
Lincoln Chafee |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALG Research (D-Whitehouse) | May 7–14, 2018 | 329 | ± 5.5% | 72% | 14% | 14% |
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Hypothetical polling
Results
Whitehouse
- 70–80%
- 80–90%
More information Party, Candidate ...
| 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% | ||
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Candidates
Nominated
- Robert Flanders, former Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court[5]
Eliminated in primary
- Rocky De La Fuente, businessman and perennial candidate[6]
Withdrew
- Robert Nardolillo, state representative[7][8]
Endorsements
Robert Flanders
- Organizations
- Rhode Island Coalition for Israel[9]
Results
Flanders
- 80–90%
More information Party, Candidate ...
| 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% | ||
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Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 9, 2018
Predictions
More information Source, Ranking ...
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[10] | Safe D | October 26, 2018 |
| Inside Elections[11] | Safe D | November 1, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[12] | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| Fox News[13] | Likely D | July 9, 2018 |
| CNN[14] | Safe D | July 12, 2018 |
| RealClearPolitics[15] | Safe D | June 2018 |
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Polling
More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) |
Robert Flanders (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fleming & Associates | October 20–24, 2018 | 416 | ± 4.8% | 55% | 36% | – | 7% |
| SocialSphere | October 5–9, 2018 | 502 | – | 56% | 32% | – | 12% |
| University of New Hampshire | September 27 – October 6, 2018 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 57% | 33% | 3% | 6% |
| Fleming & Associates Archived 2018-09-21 at the Wayback Machine | September 14–17, 2018 | 420 | ± 4.8% | 54% | 35% | – | 10% |
| SocialSphere | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 54% | 32% | – | 14% |
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More information Poll source, Date(s) administered ...
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) |
Robert Nardolillo (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SocialSphere | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 53% | 31% | 16% |
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Hypothetical polling
- with Robert Nardolillo
Results
More information Party, Candidate ...
| 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 | |||||
Close
- 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.
- 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.
- Candidates at Vote Smart
- Candidates at Ballotpedia
- Campaign finance at FEC
- Campaign finance at OpenSecrets
- Official campaign websites