United States Senate elections in Rhode Island, 2012
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Rhode Island's 2012 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access |
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2014 →
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Sheldon Whitehouse  |
Sheldon Whitehouse |
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Solid D (Prior to election) |
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Voters in Rhode Island elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the November 6, 2012 elections.
Incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse (D) won re-election.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Rhode Island has a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party may vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by August 12. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 7.[2]
- See also: Rhode Island elections, 2012
Incumbent: The election filled the Class 1 Senate seat, which was held by Sheldon Whitehouse (D). First elected in 2006, Whitehouse won re-election in 2012.
Candidates
General election candidates
- Sheldon Whitehouse
Incumbent 
Barry Hinckley
Todd Giroux- Dany LaPorte
- Christopher D. Reynolds
- David J. Slavin
- Gregory Raposa (Vigilant Fox Party)
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse Incumbent |
64.8% | 271,034 | |
| Republican | B. Barrett Hinckley, III | 35% | 146,222 | |
| Write-in | N/A | 0.2% | 933 | |
| Total Votes | 418,189 | |||
| Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Democratic Primary
- Sheldon Whitehouse: Incumbent
Republican primary
- Barry Hinckley: Software company founder[3]
Independent candidates
- Todd Giroux[4]
- Dany LaPorte[4]
- Christopher D. Reynolds[4]
- David J. Slavin[4]
- Gregory Raposa (Vigilant Fox Party)[4]
Race background
Democratic incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse, first elected in 2006, sought re-election in 2012.
Both Whitehouse and Republican challenger Barry Hinckley ran unopposed in their parties' primaries, which took place on September 11th. They were joined on the general election ballot by five minor-party candidates: Independent candidates Todd Giroux, Dany LaPorte, Christopher D. Reynolds, and David J. Slavin and Vigilant Fox Party candidate Gregory Raposa.
Competitiveness
According to an analysis of the 2012 Senate elections published by The New York Times, Rhode Island's Senate race was rated as solid Democratic.[5]
Race rating
Cook Political Report
Each month the Cook Political Report released race ratings for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House (competitive only) and Governors. There are seven possible designations:[6]
|
Solid Democratic
|
Tossup |
Lean Republican
|
| Cook Political Report Race Rating -- Rhode Island Senate | |
|---|---|
| Month | Rating |
| October 4, 2012[7] | |
| September 13, 2012[8] | |
| August 21, 2012[9] | |
| July 12, 2012[10] | |
| May 31, 2012[11] | |
| May 10, 2012[12] | |
| March 22, 2012[13] | |
| March 1, 2012[14] | |
| January 26, 2012[15] | |
| December 22, 2011[16] | |
| December 1, 2011[17] | |
Election history
2008
On November 4, 2008, Jack Reed won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Robert G. Tingle in the general election.[18]
| U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jack Reed Incumbent |
73.4% | 320,644 | |
| Republican | Robert G. Tingle | 26.6% | 116,174 | |
| Total Votes | 436,818 | |||
2006
On November 7, 2006, Sheldon Whitehouse won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Dwight Grotberg, Roland Riemers, and James Germalic in the general election.[19]
| U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse |
53.5% | 206,043 | |
| Republican | Lincoln Chafee | 46.5% | 178,950 | |
| Total Votes | 384,993 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2012
- United States Senate elections, 2012
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Rhode Island"
- ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "Elections and Voting," accessed July 27, 2012
- ↑ Cranston Herald, "Whitehouse opponent Hinckley confident, ‘we can beat this guy’," accessed January 6, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidate Search Page," accessed June 30, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "2012 Senate race ratings," accessed September 17, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Our Accuracy," accessed December 12, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," October 4, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," September 13, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," August 21, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," July 12, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 31, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," May 10, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 22, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," March 1, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," January 26, 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 27, 2011
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 SENATE RACE RATINGS," December 1, 2011
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006"
