2020 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
November 3, 2020
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Reed: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Waters: 50–60% No votes | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Rhode Island |
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The 2020 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 3, 2020, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Rhode Island, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democratic Senator Jack Reed was challenged by Republican nominee Allen Waters. Waters was later disavowed by the state Republican Party after charges of domestic assault in 2019 became public.[1]
Reed easily won a fifth term in office with 66.5% of the vote and a 33.1% margin. Despite his clear landslide victory, this was actually his worst Senate re-election performance, and the first time since his initial election to the U.S. Senate in 1996 in which he failed to receive at least 70% of the vote. Nevertheless, he outperformed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by 7.2% in the concurrent presidential election, the largest overperformance by any Democratic Senate candidate in 2020.[2]
Reed carried seven towns that Joe Biden failed to carry in the concurrent presidential election, including Coventry, Exeter, Hopkinton, Johnston, North Smithfield, Scituate, and Smithfield.[3]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack Reed (incumbent) | 65,859 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 65,859 | 100.0% | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Allen R. Waters, investment consultant[6]
Primary results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Allen Waters | 8,819 | 100.0% | |
| Total votes | 8,819 | 100.0% | ||
Independents
Disqualified
- Lenine Camacho[7]
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[8] | Safe D | October 29, 2020 |
| Inside Elections[9] | Safe D | October 28, 2020 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[10] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Daily Kos[11] | Safe D | October 30, 2020 |
| Politico[12] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| RCP[13] | Safe D | October 23, 2020 |
| DDHQ[14] | Safe D | November 3, 2020 |
| 538[15] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
| Economist[16] | Safe D | November 2, 2020 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack Reed (incumbent) | 328,574 | 66.48% | −4.10% | |
| Republican | Allen Waters | 164,855 | 33.35% | +4.10% | |
| Write-in | 833 | 0.17% | ±0.00% | ||
| Total votes | 494,262 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
By county
| Jack Reed Democratic |
Allen Waters Republican |
Others | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| Bristol | 19,106 | 69.8% | 8,213 | 30.0% | 40 | 0.2% |
| Kent | 54,770 | 60.8% | 35,255 | 39.1% | 100 | 0.1% |
| Newport | 30,580 | 69.3% | 13,527 | 30.6% | 51 | 0.1% |
| Providence | 175,783 | 68.2% | 81,590 | 31.6% | 538 | 0.2% |
| Washington | 47,188 | 64.2% | 26,189 | 35.6% | 105 | 0.1% |
By municipality
By municipality
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By congressional district
Reed won both congressional districts.[18]
| District | Reed | Waters | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 70% | 29% | David Cicilline |
| 2nd | 63% | 37% | James Langevin |
See also
References
- ^ Gregg, Katherine. "R.I. GOP rescinds endorsement of U.S. Senate candidate Allen Waters". The Providence Journal. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ Rakich, Nathaniel (December 2, 2020). "There Wasn't That Much Split-Ticket Voting In 2020". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- ^ "Rhode Island 2020 Senate election results". www.cnn.com. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ Nesi, Ted (April 18, 2019). "Sen. Reed has $1.8M for 2020 re-election race". WPRI. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- ^ a b "2020 Statewide Primary". State of Rhode Island – Board of Elections. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ Gregg, Katherine (December 16, 2019). "Providence native drops Mass. Senate bid to challenge Reed". Providence Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^ "Welcome to your Voter Information Center". Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings for October 29, 2020". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Senate Ratings". Senate Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Senate race ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Senate Race Ratings". Daily Kos Elections. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "2020 Election Forecast". Politico. November 19, 2019.
- ^ "Battle for the Senate 2020". RCP. October 23, 2020.
- ^ "2020 Senate Elections Model". Decision Desk HQ. September 2, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ Silver, Nate (September 18, 2020). "Forecasting the race for the Senate". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ "Forecasting the US elections". The Economist. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ "2020 General Election – Statewide Summary". Rhode Island Board of Elections. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
External links
- Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Rhode Island", Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "Rhode Island: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
- "League of Women Voters of Rhode Island". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
- Rhode Island at Ballotpedia
Official campaign websites