Rhode Island Attorney General election, 2018

Elections in Rhode Island, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 7
• Early voting: N/A
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • State ballot measures • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

2022 → ← 2014
Rhode Island Attorney General
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 27, 2018
Primary: September 12, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent(s): Peter Kilmartin (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Rhode Island
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2018 Impact of term limits in 2018 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
Rhode Island executive elections
Governor Lieutenant governor Attorney general Secretary of state Treasurer

Rhode Island held an election for attorney general on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was June 27, 2018.

For more information about the Democratic primary, click here.
For more information about the Republican primary, click here.
For more information about attorney general elections in 2018, click here.

SETTING THE STAGE

Heading into the 2018 election, the attorney general of Rhode Island was Peter Kilmartin (D), who was first elected in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. Kilmartin was prevented by term limits from seeking a third term in 2018.

In 2018, Rhode Island was under a Democratic trifecta. It had held this status since 2013, when former Gov. Lincoln Chafee joined the Democratic Party. Rhode Island was also a Democratic triplex.

Rhode Island was won by the Democratic candidate in each of the presidential elections between 2000 and 2016. The widest margin of victory was Al Gore's 29 percent margin in 2000, while the narrowest was Hillary Clinton's 16 percent margin in 2016.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Attorney General of Rhode Island

Peter Neronha defeated Alan Gordon in the general election for Attorney General of Rhode Island on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter Neronha (D)	79.8	274,350
		Alan Gordon (Compassion Party)	19.1	65,674
		Other/Write-in votes	1.1	3,657

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 343,681 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Charles Picerno (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Rhode Island

Peter Neronha advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Rhode Island on September 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Peter Neronha	100.0	91,784

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 91,784
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Rhode Island heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2016 elections, Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats in Rhode Island.
• Democrats held two of two U.S. House seats in Rhode Island.

State executives

• As of September 2018, Democrats held five of 12 state executive positions and the remaining seven positions were officially nonpartisan.
• The governor of Rhode Island was Democrat Gina Raimondo. The state held elections for governor on November 6, 2018.

State legislature

• Democrats controlled both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly. They had a 64-11 majority in the state House and a 33-4 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Rhode Island was under a Democratic state government trifecta, meaning Democrats held the governorship, a majority in the state senate, and a majority in the state house.

2018 elections

See also: Rhode Island elections, 2018

Rhode Island held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• U.S. Senate
• U.S. House
• Governor
• Other state executive
• State Senate
• State House
• Special state legislative

Demographics

Demographic data for Rhode Island
	Rhode Island	U.S.
Total population:	1,055,607	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	1,034	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	81.1%	73.6%
Black/African American:	6.5%	12.6%
Asian:	3.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.8%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	13.6%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	86.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	31.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$56,852	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	17.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Rhode Island. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Rhode Island's three largest cities were Providence (pop. est. 180,000), Cranston (pop. est. 81,000), and Warwick (pop. est. 81,000).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Rhode Island from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Rhode Island State Board of Elections.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Rhode Island every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Rhode Island 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Hillary Clinton	54.4%	Donald Trump	38.9%	15.5%
2012	Barack Obama	62.7%	Mitt Romney	35.2%	27.5%
2008	Barack Obama	62.9%	John McCain	35.1%	27.8%
2004	John Kerry	59.4%	George W. Bush	38.7%	20.7%
2000	Al Gore	61.0%	George W. Bush	31.9%	29.1%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Rhode Island from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Rhode Island 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	John Reed	70.6%	Mark Zaccaria	29.3%	41.3%
2012	Sheldon Whitehouse	64.8%	Barry Hinckley	35.0%	29.8%
2008	John Reed	73.1%	Bob Tingle	26.5%	46.6%
2006	Sheldon Whitehouse	53.4%	Lincoln Chafee	46.3%	7.1%
2002	John Reed	78.4%	Bob Tingle	21.6%	56.8%
2000	Lincoln Chafee	56.9%	Robert Weygand	41.2%	15.7%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Rhode Island.

Election results (Governor), Rhode Island 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Gina Raimondo	40.7%	Allan Fung	36.2%	4.5%
2010	Lincoln Chafee	36.1%	John Robitaille	33.6%	2.5%
2006	Don Carcieri	51.0%	Charles Forgerty	48.9%	2.1%
2002	Don Carcieri	54.8%	Myrth York	45.2%	9.6%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Rhode Island in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Rhode Island 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2014	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2012	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2010	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2008	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2006	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2004	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2002	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2
2000	2	100.0%	0	0.0%	D+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2024
Fifteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	I	I	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of five Rhode Island counties—20 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Kent County, Rhode Island	0.67%	17.74%	17.40%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Rhode Island with 54.4 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 38.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Rhode Island cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Rhode Island supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 66.7 to 33.3 percent. The state favored Democrats in every election between between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Rhode Island. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 73 out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 33.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 57 out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 30.4 points. Clinton won three districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won two out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 5.5 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 18 out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 11.1 points. Trump won 11 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin	Party Control
1	77.88%	19.55%	D+58.3	85.45%	10.33%	D+75.1	D
2	82.10%	14.94%	D+67.2	83.30%	11.66%	D+71.6	D
3	88.85%	10.11%	D+78.7	83.05%	13.74%	D+69.3	D
4	81.90%	15.78%	D+66.1	84.03%	11.98%	D+72.1	D
5	75.85%	22.86%	D+53	70.70%	25.52%	D+45.2	D
6	70.83%	27.63%	D+43.2	65.10%	31.15%	D+33.9	D
7	78.56%	19.57%	D+59	75.26%	20.42%	D+54.8	D
8	85.36%	11.66%	D+73.7	81.34%	13.96%	D+67.4	D
9	91.76%	6.92%	D+84.8	89.81%	7.10%	D+82.7	D
10	90.59%	8.59%	D+82	85.57%	11.51%	D+74.1	D
11	93.26%	5.08%	D+88.2	89.07%	7.94%	D+81.1	D
12	95.96%	3.50%	D+92.5	91.06%	6.52%	D+84.5	D
13	76.98%	21.84%	D+55.1	68.85%	28.14%	D+40.7	D
14	72.42%	26.13%	D+46.3	61.41%	34.88%	D+26.5	D
15	50.98%	47.87%	D+3.1	40.49%	55.59%	R+15.1	D
16	58.59%	40.13%	D+18.5	49.24%	47.00%	D+2.2	R
17	63.08%	35.32%	D+27.8	52.69%	43.33%	D+9.4	D
18	74.50%	23.72%	D+50.8	69.90%	25.47%	D+44.4	D
19	64.13%	33.94%	D+30.2	56.26%	38.78%	D+17.5	D
20	62.11%	35.83%	D+26.3	51.01%	43.79%	D+7.2	D
21	62.97%	35.04%	D+27.9	47.41%	47.19%	D+0.2	D
22	60.04%	38.07%	D+22	45.71%	48.55%	R+2.8	D
23	61.87%	35.86%	D+26	46.92%	47.65%	R+0.7	D
24	54.45%	43.97%	D+10.5	51.29%	44.27%	D+7	D
25	60.30%	36.95%	D+23.3	45.51%	48.92%	R+3.4	D
26	58.69%	39.60%	D+19.1	44.83%	50.39%	R+5.6	R
27	60.66%	37.57%	D+23.1	46.54%	48.76%	R+2.2	D
28	55.96%	42.02%	D+13.9	40.92%	53.78%	R+12.9	R
29	53.11%	44.78%	D+8.3	40.38%	54.62%	R+14.2	R
30	48.09%	50.48%	R+2.4	51.89%	43.35%	D+8.5	R
31	53.25%	44.58%	D+8.7	49.38%	44.64%	D+4.7	D
32	54.65%	42.99%	D+11.7	54.91%	38.68%	D+16.2	D
33	59.11%	38.66%	D+20.4	56.59%	37.80%	D+18.8	D
34	62.59%	35.06%	D+27.5	58.84%	35.04%	D+23.8	D
35	60.99%	36.81%	D+24.2	60.50%	33.29%	D+27.2	D
36	59.64%	38.12%	D+21.5	54.23%	40.49%	D+13.7	I
37	56.42%	42.19%	D+14.2	50.60%	44.83%	D+5.8	D
38	57.83%	39.99%	D+17.8	44.01%	50.80%	R+6.8	D
39	52.67%	44.46%	D+8.2	41.77%	52.15%	R+10.4	R
40	50.44%	47.48%	D+3	37.94%	56.19%	R+18.2	R
41	44.89%	53.59%	R+8.7	35.38%	60.20%	R+24.8	R
42	58.92%	39.91%	D+19	42.15%	54.30%	R+12.1	D
43	58.21%	40.61%	D+17.6	41.73%	54.89%	R+13.2	D
44	49.94%	48.77%	D+1.2	40.47%	55.06%	R+14.6	D
45	57.34%	41.19%	D+16.1	50.08%	44.59%	D+5.5	D
46	57.40%	41.52%	D+15.9	49.80%	45.64%	D+4.2	D
47	54.49%	43.42%	D+11.1	36.29%	57.69%	R+21.4	D
48	50.29%	47.86%	D+2.4	40.74%	54.21%	R+13.5	R
49	71.11%	26.68%	D+44.4	59.21%	35.90%	D+23.3	D
50	62.76%	35.64%	D+27.1	47.15%	47.01%	D+0.1	D
51	61.36%	36.93%	D+24.4	47.71%	46.96%	D+0.7	D
52	50.99%	47.45%	D+3.5	49.28%	45.78%	D+3.5	D
53	51.05%	47.12%	D+3.9	43.76%	51.38%	R+7.6	D
54	63.50%	34.68%	D+28.8	50.82%	45.03%	D+5.8	D
55	62.78%	35.87%	D+26.9	50.30%	46.45%	D+3.9	D
56	87.64%	11.14%	D+76.5	83.70%	13.17%	D+70.5	D
57	70.43%	28.46%	D+42	61.34%	34.62%	D+26.7	D
58	81.87%	17.04%	D+64.8	75.91%	21.45%	D+54.5	D
59	82.88%	15.73%	D+67.2	81.01%	16.02%	D+65	D
60	77.19%	21.25%	D+55.9	68.84%	26.69%	D+42.2	D
61	69.97%	28.19%	D+41.8	58.87%	36.65%	D+22.2	D
62	73.17%	25.52%	D+47.7	62.35%	33.88%	D+28.5	D
63	68.71%	29.70%	D+39	61.42%	34.15%	D+27.3	D
64	78.23%	20.42%	D+57.8	64.45%	30.74%	D+33.7	D
65	67.21%	31.00%	D+36.2	57.16%	38.34%	D+18.8	D
66	60.33%	38.05%	D+22.3	60.76%	34.39%	D+26.4	D
67	59.60%	38.43%	D+21.2	59.62%	35.22%	D+24.4	D
68	61.03%	37.23%	D+23.8	56.44%	38.30%	D+18.1	D
69	63.40%	34.93%	D+28.5	54.73%	39.34%	D+15.4	D
70	61.15%	37.13%	D+24	50.97%	44.04%	D+6.9	D
71	55.50%	42.77%	D+12.7	51.15%	42.78%	D+8.4	D
72	52.92%	45.87%	D+7	54.31%	40.56%	D+13.7	R
73	69.84%	28.60%	D+41.2	68.08%	26.94%	D+41.1	D
74	60.47%	37.39%	D+23.1	58.87%	35.46%	D+23.4	D
75	63.12%	35.12%	D+28	64.40%	30.27%	D+34.1	D
Total	62.90%	35.35%	D+27.5	55.54%	39.71%	D+15.8	-
Source: Daily Kos

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Rhode Island attorney general election 2018. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Rhode Island Attorney General election, 2018 - Google News

See also

Rhode Island government:

• Rhode Island state executive offices
• Rhode Island State Legislature
• Rhode Island courts

Elections:

• Rhode Island state executive official elections, 2018
• Gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2018
• Attorney General elections, 2018
• Secretary of State elections, 2018
• State executive official elections, 2018, 2017, 2016

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Trifecta control of state government

External links

Suggest a link

• Rhode Island attorney general official website