Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick,Rhode Island,from 1993 to 1999,a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007,and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a Democrat from 2013 to 2019;in June 2019,The Boston Globe reported that he became a Libertarian,having previously been a Republican until September 2007 and an independent and then a Democrat in the interim. He is the last non-Democrat to hold statewide and/or Congressional office in Rhode Island.
John Lester Hubbard Chafee was an American politician and officer in the United States Marine Corps. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the 66th Governor of Rhode Island,as the Secretary of the Navy,and as a United States Senator.
Lincoln Carter Almond was an American attorney and politician who served as the 72nd Governor of Rhode Island from 1995 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party,he was previously the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 1969 to 1978 and again from 1981 until 1993.
Sheldon Whitehouse is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 1993 to 1998 and as the 71st attorney general of Rhode Island from 1999 to 2003. In 2006,he won his first term to the Senate,defeating Republican incumbent Lincoln Chaffee. Whitehouse was reelected in 2012,2018,and 2024.
The 2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 7,2006. Incumbent Republican Lincoln Chafee sought re-election to a second full term in office,the seat he had held since 1999 when he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the death of his father John Chafee. He lost to Democratic nominee,former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse by a 7-point margin. Lincoln Chafee later left the Republican Party in September 2007 before running successfully as an Independent for Governor of Rhode Island in 2010.
Stephen Patrick Laffey is an American politician and businessman who served as Mayor of Cranston,Rhode Island from 2003 to 2007. A former member of the Republican Party,Laffey lost primary bids for the United States Senate from Rhode Island in 2006 and the House of Representatives from Colorado's 4th congressional district in 2014.
Elizabeth H. Roberts is an American politician who served as the 68th lieutenant governor of Rhode Island from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party,she served in that position during the administrations of Republican governor Donald Carcieri and Independent-turned Democrat Lincoln Chafee. She was elected in 2006,becoming the state's first female lieutenant governor and was succeeded by Daniel McKee on January 6,2015. She later served as Secretary of Health and Human Services during the administration of Governor Gina Raimondo,but subsequently resigned due to a widely criticized statewide computer system rollout.
The Rhode Island Republican Party is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Rhode Island.
The 2010 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 2,2010. It was preceded by the primary election on September 14,2010. Incumbent Republican governor Donald Carcieri was term-limited in 2010. The non-partisan Cook Political Report,The New York Times and CQ Politics rated the gubernatorial election as a toss-up.
Since the Great Depression,Rhode Island politics have been dominated by the Rhode Island Democratic Party,and the state is considered part of the Democrats' "Blue Wall." Democrats have won all but four presidential elections since 1928,with the exceptions being 1952,1956,1972,and 1984. The Rhode Island Republican Party,although virtually non-existent in the Rhode Island General Assembly,has remained competitive in gubernatorial elections,having won one as recently as 2006. Until 2014,Democrats had not won a gubernatorial election in the state since 1992,and it was not until 2018 that they won one by double digits. The Rhode Island General Assembly has continuously been under Democratic control since 1959.
The 2000 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 7,2000. Republican U.S. Senator John Chafee had announced in 1999 that he would not seek reelection,leading his son,Lincoln Chafee,to announce his own candidacy. The elder Chafee,however,died a few months later;his son was appointed to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. The younger Chafee,now the incumbent,sought a full term and won,defeating Democratic U.S. Representative Bob Weygand. As of 2024,this was the last congressional election in Rhode Island to be won by a Republican.
The 2002 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 5,2002. Incumbent Republican governor Lincoln Almond was term-limited. Republican Donald Carcieri won the open seat,defeating Democrat Myrth York.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was on November 6,2012,alongside the presidential election,elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various state and local elections.
The 1994 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held November 8,1994. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Chafee won re-election to a fourth term. Chafee died of heart-failure on October 24,1999,at Walter Reed Army Medical Center,having already announced his intention to retire in 2000 on March 15,1999. His son Lincoln,then the mayor of Warwick,was appointed to replace him by Governor Lincoln Almond.
The 2014 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 4,2014,to elect the governor of Rhode Island,concurrently with the election of Rhode Island's Class II U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Rhode Island on November 4,2014. All of Rhode Island's executive officers went up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and both of Rhode Island's two seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on September 9,2014.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Lincoln Chafee,the 74th governor of Rhode Island,and former United States senator from Rhode Island,was formally launched on June 3,2015. His campaign for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2016 election was his first campaign as a Democrat,after having previously been elected senator as a Republican,and governor as an independent. He received zero votes either formally or by write-in,meaning he got the fewest votes of any major party candidate in the Democratic or Republican Primaries 2016.
The 2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 6,2018,to elect the governor of Rhode Island,concurrently with the election of Rhode Island's Class I U.S. Senate seat,as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states,elections to the United States House of Representatives,and various state and local elections.
The 2022 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 8,2022,to elect the governor of Rhode Island. Incumbent Democratic governor Dan McKee became Rhode Island's governor on March 2,2021,when term-limited Gina Raimondo resigned following her confirmation as United States Secretary of Commerce. McKee easily won a full term on election day,defeating Republican Ashley Kalus by more than 19 percentage points.
