United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2020

Elections in Rhode Island, 2020

• Election date: Nov. 3
• Registration deadline(s): Oct. 4
• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: Yes (for presidential elections only)
• Recount laws

• Early voting starts: Oct. 14
• Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
• Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
• Voter ID: Photo ID
• Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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2022 → ← 2018
U.S. Senate, Rhode Island
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 24, 2020
Primary: September 8, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Jack Reed (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Rhode Island
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
U.S. Senate, Rhode Island U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd Rhode Island elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 Alabama U.S. Senate raceAlaska U.S. Senate raceArizona U.S. Senate raceArkansas U.S. Senate raceColorado U.S. Senate raceDelaware U.S. Senate raceGeorgia U.S. Senate raceIdaho U.S. Senate raceIllinois U.S. Senate raceIowa U.S. Senate raceKansas U.S. Senate raceKentucky U.S. Senate raceLouisiana U.S. Senate raceMaine U.S. Senate raceMassachusetts U.S. Senate raceMichigan U.S. Senate raceMinnesota U.S. Senate raceMississippi U.S. Senate raceMontana U.S. Senate raceNebraska U.S. Senate raceNew Hampshire U.S. Senate raceNew Jersey U.S. Senate raceNew Mexico U.S. Senate raceNorth Carolina U.S. Senate raceOklahoma U.S. Senate raceOregon U.S. Senate raceRhode Island U.S. Senate raceSouth Carolina U.S. Senate raceSouth Dakota U.S. Senate raceTennessee U.S. Senate raceTexas U.S. Senate raceVirginia U.S. Senate raceWest Virginia U.S. Senate raceWyoming U.S. Senate raceSubmit

Voters in Rhode Island elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 3, 2020.

Incumbent Jack Reed won election in the general election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
June 24, 2020	September 8, 2020	November 3, 2020

The election filled the Class II Senate seat held by Jack Reed (D). Reed was first elected in 1996.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Rhode Island modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

• Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in ballot applications were sent to all registered voters in the general election. Witness or notary requirements were suspended for mail-in ballots.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Incumbent Jack Reed defeated Allen Waters in the general election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jack Reed (D)	66.5	328,574
		Allen Waters (R)	33.4	164,855
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	833

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 494,262
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Lenine Camacho (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Incumbent Jack Reed advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jack Reed	100.0	65,879

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 65,879
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Allen Waters advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on September 8, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Allen Waters	100.0	8,819

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,819
= 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.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Rhode Island in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Rhode Island, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Rhode Island	U.S. Senate	Recognized party	500	Reduced for 2020	N/A	N/A	6/24/2020 (declaration of candidacy due); 7/10/2020 (nomination papers due)	Source
Rhode Island	U.S. Senate	Unaffiliated	500	Reduced for 2020	N/A	N/A	6/24/2020 (declaration of candidacy due); 7/10/2020 (nomination papers due)	Source

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election. It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Jack Reed	Democratic Party	$4,028,130	$3,984,162	$2,009,387	As of December 31, 2020
Allen Waters	Republican Party	$29,726	$22,368	$7,406	As of December 31, 2020
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: U.S. Senate election in Rhode Island, 2020
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 3, 2020	October 27, 2020	October 20, 2020	October 13, 2020
The Cook Political Report	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic	Safe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Election history

2018

See also: United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse defeated Robert Flanders Jr. in the general election for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheldon Whitehouse (D)	61.4	231,477
		Robert Flanders Jr. (R)	38.3	144,421
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	840

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,738
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Raymond McKay (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse defeated Patricia Fontes in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on September 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheldon Whitehouse	76.8	89,140
		Patricia Fontes	23.2	26,947

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 116,087
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island

Robert Flanders Jr. defeated Roque De La Fuente in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Rhode Island on September 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Flanders Jr.	87.7	26,543
		Roque De La Fuente	12.3	3,722

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,265
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Robert Nardolillo (R)

2014

U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Reed Incumbent	70.6%	223,675
	Republican	Mark Zaccaria	29.2%	92,684
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	539
Total Votes				316,898
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections

2012

U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2012

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"

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2020
• United States Senate elections, 2020

Footnotes

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Rhode Island's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jack Reed (D)

Sheldon Whitehouse (D)

Representatives

District 1

Gabe Amo (D)

District 2

Seth Magaziner (D)

Democratic Party (4)