PROVIDENCE – Voters returned both Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza to second terms on Tuesday by wide margins, according to preliminary results.
With 98 percent of precincts in Rhode Island reporting, both Democrats had cleared their closest competitors by a double-digit margin.
Raimondo, a Democrat, had 52 percent of the vote by 10:38 p.m., with 415 of 421 precincts reporting results. Allan W. Fung, the Republican mayor of Cranston, had collected 38 percent of the vote, according to results posted online by the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
The two were the leading candidates in a field that also included independent Joe Trillo, who collected less than 5 percent of the total votes cast in the gubernatorial race.
Addressing her supporters in a party at the Biltmore Hotel Providence, Raimondo said Rhode Islanders had made a clear choice. “The stakes were very very high in this election. The people of Rhode Island had a choice and they were crystal clear on the choice that they wanted to make.”
By 9 p.m. Tuesday, Fung had spoken to supporters, recognizing the loss and thanking them for their support.
In the mayoral race in Providence, Elorza had 64 percent of the vote, easily defeating Dianne S. Witman, an independent, according to results that indicate 98 percent of city precincts were counted. Witman had 33 percent of the vote.
In other results, incumbent U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and incumbent U.S. Rep. David N. Cicilline both were handily re-elected, with 61 percent of the vote and 66 percent of the vote respectively.
U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin also won re-election, with 63 percent of the votes cast.
Rhode Island voters overwhelmingly approved three statewide bond questions that were on all ballots in the midterm election.
They included $250 million for school building renovation and construction, $70 million for higher education facilities and $47.3 million for environmental improvements statewide.
In Providence, voters also approved another $160 million bond issue for school improvements.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
