1988 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

1988 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

←  1982 November 8, 1988 1994  →

Nominee John Chafee Richard Licht Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 217,273 180,717 Percentage 54.59% 45.41%

County results Municipality results Chafee:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Licht:      50–60%     60–70%

U.S. senator before election John Chafee Republican Elected U.S. Senator John Chafee Republican

The 1988 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Chafee won re-election to a third term.

Major candidates

Democratic

• Richard Licht, Lieutenant Governor and former State Senator

Republican

• John Chafee, U.S. Senator since 1976

Results

Chafee defeated Licht by a wide margin, winning every county in the state with 55% of the vote. This was despite 56% of Rhode Island voting for Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the concurrent presidential election. Many voters therefore split their tickets.

General election results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Chafee (Incumbent)	217,273	54.59%	+3.39%
	Democratic	Richard Licht	180,717	45.41%	−3.39%
Majority			36,556	9.19%	+6.79%
Turnout			397,990
	Republican hold		Swing

See also

• 1988 United States Senate elections

References

1. Dendy, Dallas (1989). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988" (PDF). Washington: US Government Printing Office. p. 44. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.