WASHINGTON (AP) — More than five months after they cast their vote on the presidential election, Rhode Island voters will choose which candidates will face each other in this fall’s U.S. Senate runoff elections.
Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is facing a challenge in the primary from Mike Costa, a former Republican candidate for governor who lives in Bristol. Costa, who is now running in the Democratic primary, lent his campaign $200,000 in personal funds and has set aside more than $50,000 for television advertising ahead of the primary. Whitehouse, who is running for a fourth term, has a huge financial advantage. His campaign has set aside more than $310,000 for television advertising ahead of the primary and has $3.6 million in the bank.
On the Republican side, Rep. Patricia Morgan is the only Senate candidate who has booked radio and television ads, according to the latest data from AdImpact. She represents West Warwick, Coventry and Warwick in the state House of Representatives and previously served as minority leader. She lost the Republican nomination for governor in 2018 to Allan Fung, finishing in second place with 40% of the vote. She now faces Warwick resident Ray McKay in the Senate primary.
Meanwhile, there is no drama this time around in the primaries for the state’s two Democratic congressmen.
Last year, Democrat Gabe Amo faced nearly a dozen candidates for his party’s nomination for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District. When Democratic Rep. David Cicilline retired in 2023, Amo defeated 11 other Democrats, including the lieutenant governor, in a district that Democrats were highly likely to win in a general election. The crowded field meant that Amo ultimately won just a third of the vote and finished first in that primary.
This year, however, things are going smoothly for Amo. None of his previous competitors plan to replace him, as he is running for a full term. The other member of Rhode Island’s House delegation — Democrat Seth Magaziner — will also not face a challenge in the primary.
Elsewhere in Rhode Island, several cities are holding mayoral elections, while the remaining primaries are held on Tuesday for seats in the General Assembly.
This is what you can expect:
Primary day
Rhode Island’s primary election is Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
What’s on the ballot?
The Associated Press will announce the voting results and declare the winners of the contested primaries for the U.S. Senate, Senate and House of Representatives, as well as the mayoral primaries in Cranston, Pawtucket and Woonsocket.
Who can vote?
Voters registered with a political party may vote only in their own party’s primaries. In other words, Democrats may not vote in Republican primaries or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in any primary. The deadline to change parties was August 11.
Decision notes
In the presidential election earlier this year, about 15% of President Joe Biden’s vote came from Providence, more than he got in any other county. The areas surrounding Providence — including Cranston and East Providence — are also major voting centers. In the Republican primary, Trump’s biggest supporters came from Cranston and, south of there, Warwick. Officials could begin counting early votes before Election Day.
The AP does not make predictions and will only declare a winner if it has been determined that there is no scenario in which the trailing candidates can close the gap. If no race has been declared, the AP will continue to report on all newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make it clear that no winner has yet been declared and explain why.
There are no automatic recounts in Rhode Island, but recounts can be requested depending on the vote margin. For races with more than 100,000 votes cast, a recount can be requested if the vote margin is less than 0.5 percentage points or less than 1,500 votes, whichever is less. For races with between 20,000 and 100,000 votes cast, the vote margin must be less than 1 percentage point or less than 500 votes. If the total number of votes cast is 20,000 or less, the margin to request a recount is 2 percentage points or less than 200 votes. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it can determine that the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
What is the turnout and how early is voting allowed?
As of August 1, there were approximately 775,000 registered voters in Rhode Island. Of those, 38% were Democrats, 14% Republicans, and 47% were independents or unaffiliated with a party.
In the April presidential race, turnout was 3% of registered voters in the Democratic primary, and 37% of those voters cast their ballots before Election Day. In the Republican presidential primary, turnout was 2%, and 24% of the votes were cast before Election Day.
As of September 5, a total of 15,165 votes had been cast, approximately 81% in the Democratic primary and 18% in the Republican primary.
How long does it usually take to count the votes?
In the 2022 primaries, the AP first reported results at 8:10 p.m. ET, or 10 minutes after the polls closed. The election night count ended at 11:03 p.m. ET, with about 97% of the total votes counted.
Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there are 56 days left until the November general election.
