PROVIDENCE (AP) — A statewide referendum that would shorten Rhode Island’s official name and the Democratic House speaker’s tight race for reelection were dominating Tuesday’s election in the Ocean State.
A glance at the races and issues Rhode Islanders were deciding:
PRESIDENT
Rhode Islanders picked former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden over Republican President Donald Trump.
The strongly Democratic state has backed a Republican for the White House only four times in the modern era — twice for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, once for Richard Nixon in 1972 and once for Ronald Reagan in 1984. Hillary Clinton won the state by more than 15 points over Donald Trump in 2016. Rhode Island has four electoral votes.
U.S. SENATE
Longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Jack Reed defeated Republican challenger Allen Waters, a perennial candidate who mounted earlier unsuccessful campaigns for the state Senate and U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.
Reed, first elected to the Senate in 1996, is a senior member of the powerful Appropriations Committee and a ranking member of the Armed Services Committee. Rhode Island’s other U.S. senator, Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, isn’t up for reelection until 2024.
HOUSE DISTRICT 1
Democratic Rep. David Cicilline, one of Trump’s harshest critics in Congress, cruised to a sixth term. The 59-year-old Cicilline defeated independents Frederick Wysocki and Jeffrey Lemire. Cicilline, of Providence, represents the 1st Congressional District covering the easternmost part of Rhode Island. He was mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, becoming the first openly gay chief executive of a U.S. state capital.
HOUSE DISTRICT 2
Longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Langevin, the first quadriplegic lawmaker to serve in Congress, defeated Republican former state lawmaker Robert Lancia. Langevin first was elected to the House in 2000. Lancia, a self-described “libertarian Republican,” set his sights on Congress after losing reelection to his Statehouse seat in 2018.
STATEHOUSE
Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung handed Democratic House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, one of Rhode Island’s most powerful politicians, a defeat in western Cranston’s 15th legislative district. The victory is sure to trigger a power struggle in the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, where Mattiello had faced a number of recent controversies. The Cranston district had backed Trump for president in 2016, and in 2018, Mattiello defeated his GOP opponent by just 329 votes.
Mattiello conceded Wednesday morning.
“First, a sincere thank you to the residents of District 15 who have allowed me to serve as their representative for the last 14 years. To say it was an honor would be an understatement,” Mattiello said in a statement. “While I wish last night’s outcome had been different, it in no way diminishes the privilege of serving in the House for so long. It’s been a good run.”
“We have achieved much – I wish we could do even more. But I leave this race – and this position – with a heart full of gratitude,” he said.
This story has been updated to include Mattiello’s concession.
