2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island

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.

2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island

November 2, 2010
Both Rhode Island seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 0 Seats won 2 0 Seat change Popular vote 185,711 126,951 Percentage 55.36% 37.84% Swing 13.93% 10.74%

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]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	185,711	55.36%	2	—
	Republican	126,951	37.84%	0	—
	Independents	22,822	6.80%	0	—
Totals		335,484	100.00%	2	—

By district

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

District	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	81,269	50.53%	71,542	44.49%	8,003	4.98%	160,814	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 2	104,442	59.79%	55,409	31.72%	14,819	8.48%	174,670	100.0%	Democratic Hold
Total	185,711	55.36%	126,951	37.84%	22,822	6.80%	335,484	100.0%

District 1

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 Source	Dates Administered	Democratic nominee	Republican nominee
		David Cicilline	John Loughlin
WJAR Channel 10	October 4–6, 2010	47%	36%
WPRI-TV	October 1–3, 2010	48%	29%
Brown University	September 27–29, 2010	39%	30%
Quest Research	September 15–17, 2010	49%	26%

Results

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district election, 2010[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Cicilline	81,269	50.54
	Republican	John Loughlin	71,542	44.49
	Independent	Kenneth A. Capalbo	6,424	3.99
	Independent	Gregory Raposa	1,334	0.83
	Write-ins		245	0.15
Total votes			160,814	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 2

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 Source	Dates Administered	Democratic nominee	Republican nominee	Independent candidate
		Jim Langevin	Mark Zaccaria	John Matson
WJAR Channel 10	October 4–6, 2010	65%	26%	3%
WPRI-TV	October 1–3, 2010	54%	24%	—
Brown University	September 27–29, 2010	47%	14%
Quest Research	September 15–17, 2010	54%	20%

Results

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district election, 2010[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Langevin (inc.)	104,442	59.79
	Republican	Mark S. Zaccaria	55,409	31.72
	Independent	John O. Matson	14,584	8.35
	Write-ins		235	0.13
Total votes			174,670	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

1. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2010election.pdf
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. "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. http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/wpri-east-providence-race-between-john-loughlin-and-david-cicilline-in-first-congressional-district-heats-up
5. "providencejournal.com: Local & World News, Sports & Entertainment in Providence, RI". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 18 April 2018.

External links

• Rhode Island Board of Elections
• U.S. Congress candidates for Rhode Island at Project Vote Smart
• Rhode Island U.S. House from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for Rhode Island congressional races from OpenSecrets.org
• 2010 Rhode Island General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com
• House - Rhode Island from the Cook Political Report