2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island

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2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island
Flag of Rhode Island.svg
←  2008 November 2, 2010 (2010-11-02) 2012  →
Both Rhode Island seats to the United States House of Representatives
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Last election20
Seats won20
Seat changeSteady2.svgSteady2.svg
Popular vote185,711126,951
Percentage55.36%37.84%
SwingDecrease2.svg 13.93%Increase2.svg 10.74%
2010 United States House of Representatives Election in Rhode Island results map by municipality.svg
Democratic:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Republican:     40–50%     50–60%

The 2010 congressional elections in Rhode Island were held on November 2, 2010, and determined who would represent Rhode Island in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 112th Congress from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013.

Contents

Rhode Island has two seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2009-2010 congressional delegation consisted of two Democrats, and following the election, it stayed with two Democrats.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2010 [1]
PartyVotesPercentageSeats+/–
Democratic 185,71155.36%2—
Republican 126,95137.84%0—
Independents22,8226.80%0—
Totals335,484100.00%2—

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island by district: [2]

District Democratic Republican OthersTotalResult
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
District 1 81,26950.53%71,54244.49%8,0034.98%160,814100.0%Democratic hold
District 2 104,44259.79%55,40931.72%14,8198.48%174,670100.0%Democratic hold
Total185,71155.36%126,95137.84%22,8226.80%335,484100.0%

District 1

RI district 1.gif

Campaign

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy decided not to run for a ninth term in Congress in this solidly liberal [3] district based in northern and eastern Rhode Island, creating an open seat.

David Cicilline, the Mayor of Providence, defeated Anthony Gemma, State Representative David Segal, and former Rhode Island Democratic Party Chairman Bill Lynch in the Democratic primary, while State Representative John Loughlin emerged as the Republican nominee. An aggressive campaign ensued, with Cicilline attacking Loughlin for wanting to privatize Social Security, a claim that Loughlin dismissed as one that "couldn't be further from the truth." Loughlin blasted Cicilline for creating "a $70 million deficit for the next mayor to deal with," which Cicilline attributed to budget cuts made by the Rhode Island General Assembly. [4]

The Providence Journal, praising Cicilline for being "an honest, energetic, and often innovative mayor," and criticizing Loughlin for "reacting...favorably to the collection of fiscal contradictions known as the House Republicans' 'Pledge to America,'" endorsed Cicilline, calling him a "highly competent public servant." [5]

In the end, a surprisingly close race emerged in what should have been an easy win for Cicilline, or any Democratic candidate. Though Cicilline won in the end and was sent to Washington for his first term, it was only by a six-point, 10,000 vote margin of victory.

Polling

Poll SourceDates AdministeredDemocratic nomineeRepublican nominee
David CicillineJohn Loughlin
WJAR Channel 10 [6] October 4–6, 201047%36%
WPRI-TV [7] October 1–3, 201048%29%
Brown University [8] September 27–29, 201039%30%
Quest Research [9] September 15–17, 201049%26%

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [10] Lean DNovember 1, 2010
Rothenberg [11] Lean DNovember 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball [12] Lean DNovember 1, 2010
RCP [13] TossupNovember 1, 2010
CQ Politics [14] Lean DOctober 28, 2010
New York Times [15] Safe DNovember 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight [15] Likely DNovember 1, 2010

Results

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district election, 2010 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic David Cicilline 81,269 50.54
Republican John Loughlin 71,54244.49
Independent Kenneth A. Capalbo6,4243.99
Independent Gregory Raposa1,3340.83
Write-ins2450.15
Total votes160,814 100.00
Democratic hold

District 2

RI district 2.gif

Campaign

Democratic Congressman James Langevin has represented this liberal [3] district based in southern and western Rhode Island since he was first elected in 2000. Langevin has maintained considerable popularity in this largely supportive constituency, and did not face a real threat to his re-election from his 2008 opponent, Republican Mark Zaccaria. In the general election, Langevin was re-elected by an overwhelming margin, defeating Zaccaria and independent candidate John Matson, who garnered an impressive eight percent of the vote.

Polling

Poll SourceDates AdministeredDemocratic nomineeRepublican nomineeIndependent candidate
Jim LangevinMark ZaccariaJohn Matson
WJAR Channel 10 [6] October 4–6, 201065%26%3%
WPRI-TV [7] October 1–3, 201054%24%—
Brown University [8] September 27–29, 201047%14%
Quest Research [9] September 15–17, 201054%20%

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
The Cook Political Report [10] Safe DNovember 1, 2010
Rothenberg [11] Safe DNovember 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball [12] Safe DNovember 1, 2010
RCP [13] Safe DNovember 1, 2010
CQ Politics [14] Safe DOctober 28, 2010
New York Times [15] Safe DNovember 1, 2010
FiveThirtyEight [15] Safe DNovember 1, 2010

Results

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district election, 2010 [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic James Langevin (inc.) 104,442 59.79
Republican Mark S. Zaccaria55,40931.72
Independent John O. Matson14,5848.35
Write-ins2350.13
Total votes174,670 100.00
Democratic hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). p. 43.
  2. ↑ Haas, Karen L. (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010". Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives . Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 111th Congress." The Cook Political Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011. <http://www.cookpolitical.com/sites/default/files/pvistate.pdf Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine >.
  4. ↑ Daly, Sean (October 20, 2010). "CD1 race continues to heat up". East Providence, R.I.: WPRI. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012.
  5. ↑ "providencejournal.com: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Providence, RI". providencejournal.com. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  6. 1 2 WJAR Channel 10
  7. 1 2 WPRI-TV Archived October 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  8. 1 2 Brown University
  9. 1 2 Quest Research
  10. 1 2 "The Cook Political Report – Charts – 2010 House Competitive Races". The Cook Political Report. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 4, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  11. 1 2 Rothenberg Political Report (November 1, 2010). "House Ratings". Rothenbergpoliticalreport.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  12. 1 2 Crystal Ball, as of November 1,2010
  13. 1 2 RealClearPolitics, as of November 1,2010
  14. 1 2 "2010 House Ratings Chart". CQ Politics. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "House Race Ratings". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
Preceded by
2008 elections 		United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island
2010		Succeeded by
2012 elections
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