Rhode Island State Senate elections, 2026

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2026 Rhode Island
Senate Elections
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PrimaryPending
GeneralNovember 3, 2026
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Elections for the Rhode Island State Senate will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

The Rhode Island State Senate is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.

Party control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates and State government trifectas
Party As of March 2025
     Democratic Party 34
     Republican Party 4
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 38

Candidates

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

This list will be updated after the candidate filing deadline has passed and the official list of candidates becomes available. Please contact us if you notice an official candidate missing from the list or the inclusion of a candidate who withdrew.

Primary

Rhode Island State Senate primary 2026
  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38

General election

Rhode Island State Senate general election 2026
  • Incumbents are marked with an (i) after their name.
  • Please contact Ballotpedia about candidate additions, withdrawals, or disqualifications.
Office Democratic Party Democratic Republican Party Republican Other
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38

Voting information

See also: Voting in Rhode Island

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.


Competitiveness

This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in Rhode Island. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.

Process to become a candidate

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Rhode Island

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Rhode Island General Laws, Title 17, Chapter 14

In Rhode Island, all candidates must adhere to the same filing procedure, regardless of partisan affiliation. First, a candidate must file a declaration of candidacy. A candidate for statewide or federal office must submit this form to the Rhode Island Secretary of State. A candidate for the state legislature must file the declaration with the local board of canvassers in the city or town where he or she is registered to vote. Declarations of candidacy may be filed during the last consecutive Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in June of the election year.[1][2]

A party candidate uses the declaration of candidacy to declare partisan affiliation, as well. If a candidate belongs to a party but wishes to run under a different party label, he or she must disaffiliate from the original party 90 days prior to filing the declaration of candidacy. Party-affiliated candidates may choose to run as independent candidates. Likewise, unaffiliated candidates may file as party candidates. Once they do, they automatically become members of the party.[1][3]

In Rhode Island, political party officials may designate candidates to represent their parties in primaries and general elections. Such designations are called endorsements. A party's state committee is responsible for making endorsements for federal and statewide candidates; senatorial and representative district committees make endorsements for state legislative candidates. A majority of the committee's members must sign an endorsement form in order to endorse a particular candidate. Endorsements by district committees must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the day after the last day of the filing period. Endorsements by the state committee must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the second day after the final day of the filing period.[1][4][5]

Regardless of endorsement status, a candidate for federal, statewide, or state legislative office must collect signatures on nomination papers, which are issued after the candidate submits his or her declaration of candidacy. Signature requirements are the same for political party candidates as they are for unaffiliated candidates. Nomination papers become available within two business days of the final date for filing endorsements. Signature requirements are summarized in the table below.[1][6][7]

Nomination paper signature requirements
Office Signatures required
Governor, United States Senator 1,000
United States Representative, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state 500
State senator 100
State representative 50

Each sheet of a nomination paper can include only signatures from voters residing in the same city or town. Papers are due to the appropriate local board of canvassers by 4:00 p.m. on the 60th day preceding the primary.[1][8]

Write-in candidates

Write-in candidates do not need to file special paperwork in order to have their votes tabulated. However, write-in candidates engaged in campaign activities may be required to comply with the state's campaign finance laws.[9][10]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Article III of the Rhode Island Constitution lays out the requirements for officeholders of Rhode Island's state government.

Salaries and per diem

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[11]
SalaryPer diem
$19,037/yearNo per diem is paid.

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Rhode Island legislators assume office the first Tuesday in January.[12]

Rhode Island political history

Trifectas

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2025
Sixteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R I I D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
House D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

Presidential politics in Rhode Island

2024

See also: Presidential election, 2024


Presidential election in Rhode Island, 2024
 
Candidate/Running mate
%
Popular votes
Electoral votes
✔
Image of
Image of
Kamala D. Harris/Tim Walz (D)
 
55.5
 
285,156 4
Image of
Image of
Donald Trump/J.D. Vance (R)
 
41.8
 
214,406 0
Image of
Image of
Robert F. Kennedy Jr./Nicole Shanahan (Team Kennedy)
 
1.0
 
5,045 0
Image of
Image of
Jill Stein/Butch Ware (G)
 
0.6
 
2,900 0
Image of
Image of
Chase Oliver/Mike ter Maat (L)
 
0.3
 
1,617 0
Image of
Image of
Claudia De La Cruz/Karina Garcia (Party for Socialism and Liberation)
 
0.2
 
1,176 0
Image of
Image of
Robert Wells Jr./Tony Jones (Party Party)
 
0.1
 
359 0
  Other write-in votes
 
0.5
 
2,727 0

There were no incumbents in this race The results have been certified.

Total votes: 513,386


2020

See also: Presidential election, 2020


Presidential election in Rhode Island, 2020
 
Candidate/Running mate
%
Popular votes
Electoral votes
✔
Image of
Image of
Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D)
 
59.4
 
307,486 4
Image of
Image of
Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R)
 
38.6
 
199,922 0
Image of
Image of
Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L)
 
1.0
 
5,053 0
Image of
Image of
Roque De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (Alliance Party)
 
0.2
 
923 0
Image of
Image of
Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Party for Socialism and Liberation)
 
0.2
 
847 0
Image of
Image of
Brian T. Carroll/Amar Patel (American Solidarity Party)
 
0.1
 
767 0
  Other write-in votes
 
0.5
 
2,759 0

Incumbents are bolded and underlined The results have been certified.

Total votes: 517,757


2016

See also: Presidential election, 2016
U.S. presidential election, Rhode Island, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngHillary 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


Rhode Island presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 22 Democratic wins
  • 10 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D R R R D D D D D D R R D D D R D D R D D D D D D D D D D


Redistricting following the 2020 census

Rhode Island enacted new legislative district boundaries on February 16, 2022, when Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed redistricting legislation approved by the General Assembly. The State House of Representatives passed the new maps by a vote of 57-6 and the State Senate approved them, 29-9, on February 15, 2022. In a press release issued after Gov. McKee signed the legislation, State Representative Robert Phillips (D), co-chair of the state's legislative Reapportionment Commission, said, "It was an honor and pleasure to work with such a dedicated group of individuals on this commission. I’m particularly proud of the fact that we obtained so much input from citizens around the state, holding our meetings in several cities and towns to make it more accessible to everyone. Reapportionment can be daunting and complex, but I’m glad we took everyone’s concerns into account and came up with a fair and equitable system of reapportionment.”[13][14][15][16]


See also

Rhode Island State Legislative Elections News and Analysis
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Rhode Island State Executive Offices
Rhode Island State Legislature
Rhode Island Courts
2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020
2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014
Rhode Island elections: 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
Partisan composition of state legislatures
Partisan composition of state senates
Partisan composition of state houses

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Rhode Island: How to Run for Office 2014," accessed March 26, 2014
  2. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-14-1," accessed March 26, 2014
  3. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-14-1.1," accessed March 26, 2014
  4. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-12-4," accessed March 26, 2014
  5. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-12-11," accessed March 26, 2014
  6. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-14-7," accessed March 26, 2014
  7. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-14-4," accessed March 26, 2014
  8. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-14-11," accessed March 26, 2014
  9. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17, Section 17-19-31," accessed March 26, 2014
  10. ↑ Rhode Island Board of Elections, "Procedures for Tabulating and Reporting Write-In Votes," accessed March 26, 2014
  11. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  12. ↑ Rhode Island Constitution, "Article VI, Section 3," accessed February 17, 2021
  13. ↑ State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "Bill to reapportion House, Senate, congressional districts signed into law," accessed February 18, 2022
  14. ↑ State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "2022 House Journals - February 15th," accessed February 18, 2022
  15. ↑ State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "House Floor Votes for 2/15/2022," accessed February 18, 2022
  16. ↑ State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "Legislative Status Report - Senate Bill No. 2162 SUB A as amended," accessed February 18, 2022


Current members of the Rhode Island State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Dominick Ruggerio
Majority Leader:Valarie Lawson
Minority Leader:Jessica de la Cruz
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Sam Bell (D)
District 6
District 7
District 8
Lori Urso (D)
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
Dawn Euer (D)
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
Democratic Party (34)
Republican Party (4)


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