Pivot Counties in Rhode Island
| 2020 Election Analysis: Pivot Counties |
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Retained • Boomerang Margins of victory Voter turnout Demographics |
Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide Ballotpedia identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Media and political observers sometimes refer to these counties as swing counties.
Following the 2016 presidential election, Rhode Island had one Pivot County.
Ballotpedia defines Pivot Counties Trump won in 2020 as Retained Pivot Counties and those Joe Biden (D) won as Boomerang Pivot Counties.
After the 2020 presidential election, that one county was a Boomerang Pivot County.
List of Pivot Counties
The table below displays information on the Pivot County in Rhode Island. This county accounted for 20 percent of the total counties in Rhode Island, and 15.69 percent of the state population.
| Analysis of Rhode Island counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 following the 2020 presidential election[1] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | State | Winner, 2020 | Margin of Victory, 2020 | Trump Margin of Victory, 2016 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2012 | Obama Margin of Victory, 2008 | |
| Kent County | Rhode Island | Boomerang | +7.64 | +0.67 | +17.74 | +17.4 | |
The map below shows the Boomerang Pivot County in Rhode Island shaded bright blue.
2020 analysis
Voter turnout
Rhode Island has one Boomerang Pivot County, 20.0% of the state's five total counties. Turnout in this county accounted for 18.03% of the statewide total turnout.
| Voter turnout in Rhode Island and its Pivot County | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Overview | ||||||
| Rhode Island | 516,383 | 789,060 | 65.44% | - | ||
| Boomerang Pivot County | 93,093 | 129,620 | 71.82% | 18.03% | ||
| County-specific | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | Voting age population | Turnout | Contribution to statewide turnout | |||
| Kent | 93,093 | 129,620 | 71.82% | 18.03% | ||
Demographics
This table displays demographic data, on average, by county compared to nationwide and statewide averages with a focus on Pivot Counties. Use the arrows at the top of the table to view 2016 data and changes from 2016 to 2020. Full demographic data can be found here.
2016 analysis
Voting trends
The table below details the voting trends of the Pivot County in Rhode Island since 1960.
| Presidential Elections in Rhode Island Pivot Counties since 1960 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Elections won by Republican Presidential candidate | Elections won by Democratic Presidential candidate | Elections matching national result | |||
| Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | Elections | Percentage of elections | |
| Kent County, Rhode Island | 4 | 26.67% | 11 | 73.33% | 9 | 60.00% |
2016 election results
In 2016, Rhode Island had four electoral votes, which was 0.7 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 1.5 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election. Presidential primary elections in Rhode Island took place on April 26, 2016. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary with 54.7 percent of the vote. Donald Trump won the Republican primary with 63.7 percent.
General election
| U.S. presidential election, Rhode Island, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic |  Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine |
54.4% | 252,525 | 4 | |
| Republican | Donald Trump/Mike Pence | 38.9% | 180,543 | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 3.2% | 14,746 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 1.3% | 6,220 | 0 | |
| American Delta | Roque De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg | 0.1% | 671 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 2% | 9,439 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 464,144 | 4 | |||
| Election results via: Rhode Island Board of Elections | |||||
Primaries
| Rhode Island Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Bernie Sanders |
54.7% | 66,993 | 13 | |
| Hillary Clinton | 43.1% | 52,749 | 11 | |
| Mark Steward | 0.2% | 236 | 0 | |
| Roque De La Fuente | 0.1% | 145 | 0 | |
| Other | 1.9% | 2,335 | 0 | |
| Totals | 122,458 | 24 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Rhode Island Board of Elections | ||||
| Rhode Island Republican Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Delegates | |
|
Donald Trump |
63.7% | 39,221 | 12 | |
| Ted Cruz | 10.4% | 6,416 | 2 | |
| John Kasich | 24.3% | 14,963 | 5 | |
| Marco Rubio | 0.6% | 382 | 0 | |
| Other | 1% | 632 | 0 | |
| Totals | 61,614 | 19 | ||
| Source: The New York Times and Rhode Island Board of Elections | ||||
See also
- List of Pivot Counties - the 206 counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump
- Pivot Counties by state
- Presidential election, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ This analysis does not include counties in Alaska and certain independent cities due to variations in vote total reporting.
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