Democrats appeared to sweep Rhode Island’s statewide elections Tuesday, which would see them maintain their hold on every statewide constitutional office.
The party has won every statewide constitutional race since 2010, when independent Lincoln Chafee was elected governor. Rhode Island voters also returned Democrats to Washington, keeping the state’s congressional delegation entirely blue.
Here’s a look at the biggest results from the 2026 general election.
Statewide Races
Governor
Democrat Helena Foulkes defeated Independent Ken Block and Republican Aaron Guckian, along with two lesser-known candidates.
Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Democrat Sabina Matos appeared to defeat Republican challenger John Loughlin, considered the GOP’s best shot at winning a statewide office. While the Associated Press had not projected a winner as of midnight Wednesday, Loughlin conceded the race to Matos on Tuesday evening.
Matos was first appointed to the position in 2021 and was elected by voters to a full term in 2022.
Attorney General
Democrat Kim Ahern defeated Republican Alan Gordon.
Ahern has had a lengthy career in state government. She spent nearly ten years as a prosecutor and later served as a senior counselor for governors Gina Raimondo and Dan McKee. Most recently, Ahern was the first chairperson of the Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission, the independent state agency responsible for overseeing the regulation and licensing of cannabis sales.
Treasurer
While the Associated Press had not projected a winner as of midnight Wednesday, incumbent Democrat James Diossa appeared to defeat Republican candidate Micholas Credle.
Prior to winning the treasurer position in 2022, Diossa served as mayor of Central Falls.
Secretary of State
Incumbent Democrat Gregg Amore was re-elected Secretary of State. The former East Providence educator was unopposed.
Federal Races
U.S. Senate
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat, won re-election to a sixth term, defeating Republican Raymond McKay and Independent Michael Bahry.
Reed was first elected to the Senate in 1996. Before that, he served three terms in the U.S. House and three terms in the Rhode Island State Senate.
U.S. House District 1
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo defeated Republican Kellie Keenan and Independent Pedro Soares de Souza.
Amo will begin his second term in the House in January.
U.S. House District 2
U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, the incumbent, defeated Republican Victor Mellor. He was first elected to the U.S. House in 2022.
Magaziner served as Rhode Island's general treasurer from 2015 to 2023.
Statewide Ballot Questions
Rhode Island voters faced five statewide ballot questions, which would have approved some $600 million in borrowing. Final results were not clear as of midnight Wednesday.
These bond questions appeared on track to pass:
- Question 1: Which proposed $275 million for construction and renovations at the state’s three public colleges and universities;
- Question 2: Which proposed $120 million for housing and community development projects; and
- Question 5: Which proposed $55 million for environmental and recreational projects.
Question 3, which proposed $100 million for economic development projects, and Question 4, which would have borrowed funding for a new state history center, appeared to be more closely contested as votes continued to be counted.
Local Races
Mayor of Providence
Democrat David Morales defeated Republican David Talan.
At 28, Morales is the youngest member of the state legislature and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Providence Ballot Question 7: Approved
Question 7 is a binding initiative that would set some moral boundaries on the city’s investments, requiring the city to pull its money from “countries and companies profiting from genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and prolonged military occupation.”
The question does not directly refer to Israel, but the campaign in support of the measure was driven in large part by the group Providence for Palestine.
Providence voters overwhelmingly approved the measure, according to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections.
