Rhode Island's 2014 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • School boards • Candidate ballot access

2015 → ← 2013

The state of Rhode Island held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:

2014 elections and events in Rhode Island
State House special election (primary)	January 21, 2014
State House special election (runoff)	February 25, 2014
Filing deadline for all candidates	June 25, 2014
Deadline for candidates to submit nomination papers to run for office	July 1, 2014
Voter registration deadline for primary election	August 10, 2014
Primary election date	September 9, 2014
Voter registration deadline for general election	October 5, 2014
General election date	November 4, 2014
Statewide ballot measures	November 4, 2014
School board elections (2)	November 4, 2014

Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in Rhode Island in 2014:

On the 2014 ballot
Find current election news and links here.
U.S. Senate	a
U.S. House	a
State Executives	a
State Senate	a
State House	a
Statewide ballot measures (7 measure)	a
Local ballot measures	d
School boards	a

2014 elections[edit]

Races to watch in Rhode Island[edit]

Rhode Island State Legislature

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See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2014 and Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Rhode Island State Senate
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 21	Nicholas Kettle	1.5%	13,769	Scott M. Pollard
District 34	Catherine Cool Rumsey	10.3%	12,973	Francis Maher, Jr.
District 27	Hanna Gallo	13.1%	12,603	Aram G. Garabedian
District 35	Dawson Hodgson	16.8%	13,534	Winters B. Hames III
District 23	Paul Fogarty	18.2%	12,728	Julian P. Forgue
District 22	Stephen R. Archambault	18.2%	12,518	Richard A. Poirier
District 19	Ryan William Pearson	19.2%	12,540	Bethany Moura
District 36	James Sheehan	20.2%	14,327	Mariacristina C. Mckendall
District 17	Edward O'Neill	21.3%	13,232	John J. Cullen
District 33	Leonidas Raptakis	23.4%	12,607	Glenford Shibley

Elections for the Rhode Island House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014. Heading into the election, the Democratic Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Rhode Island House of Representatives
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 30	Antonio Giarrusso	1%	7,473	Mark Schwager
District 72	Linda Dill Finn	1.4%	7,106	Daniel Reilly
District 26	Patricia Morgan	4.5%	5,467	Nicholas Denice
District 31	Doreen Costa	5.9%	7,268	Steven Campo
District 46	Jeremiah O'Grady	6.1%	7,113	Matthew Guerra
District 39	Larry Valencia	7.1%	6,238	Clay P. Johnson
District 32	Robert Craven Sr.	8.3%	7,532	Laurence Ehrhardt
District 47	Cale Keable	8.7%	5,894	Donald Fox
District 35	Spencer Dickinson	8.7%	4,559	James Haldeman
District 67	Jan Malik	10.2%	6,599	Peter Costa Jr.

Elections by type[edit]

U.S. Senate[edit]

U.S. Senate elections in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: United States Senate elections in Rhode Island, 2014 and United States Senate elections, 2014

Voters in Rhode Island elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
June 25, 2014	September 9, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Rhode Island utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in a party's primary, but they will then be considered affiliated with that party. In order to disaffiliate, they must file a "Change of Party Designation" form.^[1][2][3][4]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by August 10, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014 (30 days prior to the election).^[5]

See also: Rhode Island elections, 2014

Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Jack Reed (D). Reed was first elected in 1996.

Candidates[edit]

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General election candidates

• Jack Reed - Incumbenta^[6]
• Mark Zaccaria^[6]

Withdrew from race

• Kara Young^[6][7]

Declined to run

• Donald Carcieri - Former Governor of Rhode Island
• Brendan Doherty - Former superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police
• Scott Avedisian - Mayor of Warwick
• Allan Fung - Mayor of Cranston

Election results[edit]

U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	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

Race background[edit]

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Democratic incumbent Jack Reed was first elected to the Senate in 1996, and he won re-election in 2002 and 2008.^[8] No Republican has been elected to Reed’s Senate seat since 1930, and he was considered to be safe for re-election in 2014.

A Public Policy Poll released February 1, 2013, showed Reed in excellent standing for re-election in 2014. In addition to high job performance approval ratings, respondents said they would vote for Reed over all five potential Republican challengers included in the survey, with Reed winning by a minimum of 29 points against Brendan Doherty and a maximum of 65 points against Curt Schilling.

The results prompted Dean Debna, the President of Public Policy Polling, to say that, "Jack Reed may very well be the least vulnerable Senator in the country up for re-election next year."^[8]

U.S. House[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2014 and United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected two candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's two congressional districts.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
June 25, 2014	September 9, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Rhode Island utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in a party's primary, but they will then be considered affiliated with that party. In order to disaffiliate, they must file a "Change of Party Designation" form.^{[9][10][11][12]}

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by August 10, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014 (30 days prior to the election).^[13]

See also: Rhode Island elections, 2014

Partisan breakdown[edit]

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Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held both of the two congressional seats from Rhode Island.

Members of the U.S. House from Rhode Island -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2014	After the 2014 Election
	Democratic Party	2	2
	Republican Party	0	0
Total		2	2

Incumbents[edit]

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Heading into the 2014 election, the incumbents for the two congressional districts were:

Name	Party	District
David Cicilline	Democratic	1
James R. Langevin	Democratic	2

List of candidates by district[edit]

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1st Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• David Cicilline - Incumbenta
• Cormick Lynch

September 9, 2014, primary results

Democratic Primary David Cicilline - Incumbenta[6][14] Matthew Fecteau[6]

Republican Primary Cormick Lyncha[15][14] Stanford Tran[6]

Failed to file

• Jonathan Maciel^[16]
• Joseph Zuccolo^[6][17]

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David Cicilline Incumbent	59.5%	87,060
	Republican	Cormick Lynch	40.2%	58,877
	N/A	Write-in	0.3%	416
Total Votes				146,353
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections

2nd Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• James R. Langevin - Incumbenta
• Rhue Reis^[18]

Failed to file

• Charles Picerno^[19][20]

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	James R. Langevin Incumbent	62.2%	105,716
	Republican	Rhue Reis	37.6%	63,844
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	344
Total Votes				169,904
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections

State Executives[edit]

State executive official elections in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: Rhode Island state executive official elections, 2014 and State executive official elections, 2014

Five state executive positions were up for election in 2014 in the state of Rhode Island.

The following offices were elected in 2014 in Rhode Island:

• Governor of Rhode Island
• Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island
• Rhode Island Attorney General
• Rhode Island Secretary of State
• Rhode Island Treasurer

List of candidates by office[edit]

Governor[edit]

---

General election[edit]

Gina Raimondo - State Treasurer^[21][22]
Allan Fung - Mayor of Cranston^[23][24]
Robert Healey - Moderate Party candidate^[25]
Kate Fletcher^[26]
Leon Kayarian^[26]

Withdrawn or removed from ballot[edit]

Thomas Davis^[27]
Christopher Reynolds^[26]
James Spooner - Moderate Party candidate^[26]
Anna Winograd Vrankar - Compassion Party candidate^[26]

Lost in primary[edit]

Angel Taveras - Mayor of Providence^[28]
Todd Giroux - 2010 Independent candidate for governor^[29]
Clay Pell - U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education^[30]
Ken Block - Founder and former head of the Rhode Island Moderate Party^[31]

Declined[edit]

Lincoln Chafee - Incumbent^[32]
Ernest Almonte - Former State Auditor^[33][34]
Scott Avedisian - Mayor of Warwick^[24][35]
Brendan Doherty - Former state police superintendent and 2012 Republican nominee for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District
John Robitaille - 2010 candidate for governor^[36][37]

Lieutenant Governor[edit]

---

General election[edit]

Daniel McKee - Cumberland Mayor^[38]
Catherine Terry Taylor - former speechwriter and 2010 candidate for Secretary of State^[39]
Tony Jones^[40]
Thomas David Gallant - Constitutionalist Party candidate^[26]
William Gilbert - Moderate Party candidate^[26]

Lost in primary[edit]

Ralph Mollis - Secretary of State^[41]
Frank Ferri - State representative^[42]
Kara Young^[43]

Declined[edit]

Joshua Miller - State Senator^[44]

Attorney General[edit]

---

General election[edit]

Peter Kilmartin - Incumbent
Dawson Hodgson - State Senator^[45]

Secretary of State[edit]

---

General election[edit]

Nellie Gorbea - Former Deputy Secretary of State^[46]
John Carlevale^[26]
Pamela Azar^[26]

Lost in primary[edit]

Guillaume de Ramel - Newport businessman^[47]

Declined[edit]

Terry Hassett - Providence City Councilor^[48]
Ed Pacheco - Former state representative and state Democratic Party chairman^[49][50]

Down ballot offices[edit]

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Office	Incumbent	Assumed Office	Incumbent running?	General Election Candidates	2015 Winner	Partisan Switch?
General Treasurer	Gina Raimondo	2011	No	Seth Magaziner Ernest Almonte	Seth Magaziner	No

State Senate[edit]

State Senate election in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014.

Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Rhode Island State Senate:

Rhode Island State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	32	32
	Republican Party	5	5
	Independent	1	1
Total		38	38

List of candidates by district[edit]

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38

State House[edit]

State House elections in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2014 State legislative special elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

There were both regular elections and special elections scheduled for the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 2014.

Regularly scheduled elections[edit]

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Elections for the Rhode Island House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on September 9, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 25, 2014.

Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Rhode Island House of Representatives:

Rhode Island House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	69	63
	Republican Party	6	11
	Independent	0	1
Total		75	75

List of candidates by district[edit]

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56 • District 57 • District 58 • District 59 • District 60 • District 61 • District 62 • District 63 • District 64 • District 65 • District 66 • District 67 • District 68 • District 69 • District 70 • District 71 • District 72 • District 73 • District 74 • District 75

Special elections by date[edit]

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February 25, 2014 runoff[edit]

☑ Rhode Island House of Representatives District 49

See also: Rhode Island state legislative special elections, 2014 Michael Morin defeated Douglas Brown and Mark Chenot in the January 21 Democratic primary. Morin defeated write-in candidates in the special election, which took place on February 25.[51][52][53][54] The seat was vacant following Lisa Baldelli-Hunt's (D) election as Mayor of Woonsocket.[55] A special election for the position of Rhode Island House of Representatives District 49 was called for February 25, with a primary on January 21. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was December 13, 2013.[56] Rhode Island House of Representatives, District 49 Democratic Primary, 2014 Candidate Vote % Votes Michael Morin 52.1% 373 Douglas Brown 46.6% 334 Mark Chenot 1.3% 9 Total Votes 716 January 21 Democratic primary candidates: Douglas Brown Mark Chenot Michael Morin a Note: Stuart Gitlow appeared on the official candidate list but did not appear on the primary ballot. February 25 Special election candidates: Michael Morin

Statewide ballot measures[edit]

Statewide ballot measure elections in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: Rhode Island 2014 ballot measures and 2014 ballot measures

Seven statewide ballot measures were certified for the 2014 ballot in the state of Rhode Island.

On the ballot[edit]

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November 4:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRSS	Question 1	Gambling	Authorizes casino gaming at the Newport Grand facility in Newport	d
LRCA	Question 2	Gambling	Prohibits changes in location of gambling without the approval of electors	a
ABR	Question 3	Con Cons	Dictates whether or not Rhode Island holds a constitutional convention	d
BI	Question 4	Bonds	Permits the issuance of a bond of $125 million to construct a new College of Engineering building	a
BI	Question 5	Bonds	Permits the issuance of a bond of $35 million to fund artistic, historic and cultural centers	a
BI	Question 6	Bonds	Permits the issuance of $35 million in bonds to fund enhancements and renovations to mass transit hub infrastructure	a
BI	Question 7	Bonds	Permits the issuance of $53 million in bonds for environmental and recreational purposes	a

School boards[edit]

School board elections in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: List of school board elections in 2014 and Rhode Island school board elections, 2014

In 2014, 670 of America's largest school districts held elections for 2,188 seats. These elections took place in 37 states.

State elections[edit]

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A total of two Rhode Island school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2014 for 10 seats. Each district held elections on November 4, 2014.

Here are several quick facts about Rhode Island's school board elections in 2014:

• An average of 1.70 candidates ran for each board seat up for election in 2014 in Rhode Island’s largest school districts by enrollment, which was lower than the national average of 1.89 candidates per seat.
• 30 percent of the school board seats on the ballot in 2014 were unopposed. This was a lower percentage than the 32.57 percent of school board seats that were unopposed nationally.

• 80 percent of the incumbents whose seats were on the ballot ran for re-election in 2014, and they all successfully retained their seats.
• Two newcomers were elected to school boards in Rhode Island. They took 20 percent of the total seats in 2014, which was lower than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally.
• The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Cranston Public Schools with 10,653 K-12 students.
• The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Warwick Public Schools with 10,174 K-12 students.
• Cranston Public Schools had the most seats on the ballot in 2014 with seven seats up for election.
• Warwick Public Schools had the fewest seats on the ballot in 2014 with three seats up for election.

The districts listed below served 20,827 K-12 students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.^[57] Click on the district names for more information on each district and its school board elections.

2014 Rhode Island School Board Elections
District	Date	Seats up for election	Total board seats	Student enrollment
Cranston Public Schools	11/4/2014	7	7	10,653
Warwick Public Schools	11/4/2014	3	5	10,174

Voting in Rhode Island[edit]

See also: Voting in Rhode Island

Important voting information[edit]

• A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Rhode Island utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in a party's primary, but they will then be considered affiliated with that party. In order to disaffiliate, they must file a "Change of Party Designation" form.^{[58][59][60][61]}

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

• Rhode Island does not permit online voter registration.

Voting absentee[edit]

See also: Absentee voting by state

For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Rhode Island, please visit our absentee voting by state page.

Voting early[edit]

See also: Early voting

Rhode Island is one of 14 states that do not have any form of early voting.^[62]

Elections Performance Index[edit]

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Rhode Island ranked 23rd out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Rhode Island received an overall score of 66 percent.^[63]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

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