Rhode Island is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west;Massachusetts to its north and east;and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound;and shares a small maritime border with New York,east of Long Island. Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous,with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020;but it has grown at every decennial count since 1790 and is the second-most densely populated state,after New Jersey. The state takes its name from the eponymous island,though nearly all its land area is on the mainland. Providence is its capital and most populous city.
Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Rhode Island,with much of the land in Providence,and other parts in North Providence. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School,making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown University. Located on a 180-acre campus,the college has a student body of 9,000:7,518 undergraduates and 1,482 graduate students. RIC is a member of the NCAA and has 17 Division III teams.
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 member of the Democratic Party from 2013 to 2019;in June 2019,The Boston Globe reported that he had become a registered Libertarian,having previously been a Republican until September 2007 and an independent and then a Democrat in the interim.
Samuel Greene Arnold Jr. was an attorney and politician from Rhode Island. A Republican,he was most notable for his service as lieutenant governor and as a United States senator.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Rhode Island since August 1,2013. The state had authorized a limited form of domestic partnerships from 2002 to 2011 and the formation of civil unions from 2011 until the state began recognizing same-sex marriages in 2013. Rhode Island was the last U.S. state in New England to legalize same-sex marriage.
Prostitution in Rhode Island was outlawed in 2009. On November 3,2009,Republican Governor Donald Carcieri signed into law a bill which makes the buying and selling of sexual services a crime.
Daniel James McKee is an American politician and businessman serving as the 76th governor of Rhode Island since March 2021. A member of the Democratic Party,he also served as Rhode Island's 69th lieutenant governor from 2015 to 2021.
Gina Marie Raimondo is an American businesswoman,lawyer,politician,and venture capitalist who has served since 2021 as the 40th United States secretary of commerce. A member of the Democratic Party,she served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021,and was the first woman to serve in the role.
Gregg Amore is an American politician currently serving as the Secretary of State of Rhode Island.
Daniel Da Ponte is an American politician and was a Democratic member of the Rhode Island Senate representing District 14 from January 2003 to January 2019. Da Ponte served consecutively from January 1999 until January 2003 in the District 42 seat,and served as chair of the Senate Finance Committee from 2009 to 2018. Da Ponte left the Rhode Island Senate after choosing not to stand for re-election in the November 2018 general election,he was succeeded by teacher and labor leader Valerie Lawson. Da Ponte is of Azorean heritage.
Maryellen Goodwin was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Rhode Island Senate representing District 24 since January 2005. Goodwin served consecutively from January 1987 until January 2005 in the District 1 and District 4 seats.
Lila Manfield Sapinsley was an American politician.
Isabelle Ahearn O'Neill was a stage and screen actor of the silent film era,a suffragist,and the first woman elected to the Rhode Island Legislature. She also served in the state Senate and,under President Franklin Roosevelt,in the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 2014.
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.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island were held on November 8,2022,to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Rhode Island,one from each of the state's 2 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives,elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. It followed a primary election on September 13,2022.
Tiara Mack is an American politician. She is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island Senate,representing District 6. Mack assumed office on January 5,2021,having defeated the incumbent senator Harold Metts in the Democratic primary.
Sabina Matos is a Dominican-American politician serving as the 70th lieutenant governor of Rhode Island. Sabina Matos is the first Dominican-American elected to statewide office in the United States. Matos also holds the distinction of being the first Black statewide officeholder in Rhode Island.
Elections are held in Providence,Rhode Island to elect the city's mayor. Such elections are regularly scheduled to be held in United States midterm election years.
The 2022 Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 8,2022,to elect the lieutenant governor of the state of Rhode Island. The election coincided with various other federal and state elections,including for Governor of Rhode Island. Primary elections were held on September 13. Rhode Island is one of 21 states that elects its lieutenant governor separately from its governor.
The 2023 Rhode Island's 1st congressional district special election was held on November 7,2023. The seat became vacant following incumbent Democratic representative David Cicilline's resignation on May 31,2023,to become the president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. This was the first congressional special election in Rhode Island since the 1967 2nd district special election and the first special election in the 1st district since 1935.
