The 2010 congressional elections in Rhode Island were held on November 2, 2010, and determined who would represent

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the

112th Congress The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...

from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. Rhode Island has two seats in the House, apportioned according to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

. Its 2009-2010 congressional delegation consisted of two Democrats, and following the election, it stayed with two Democrats.

Overview

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island by district:

District 1

Campaign

Incumbent Democratic Congressman

Patrick J. Kennedy Patrick Joseph Kennedy II (born July 14, 1967) is an American politician and mental health advocate. From 1995 to 2011, he served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island's 1st congressional distr ...

decided not to run for a ninth term in Congress in this solidly liberal"Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 111th Congress." The Cook Political Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2011. . district based in northern and eastern Rhode Island, creating an open seat.

David Cicilline David Nicola Cicilline (; born July 15, 1961) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 36th mayor of Providence from 2003 to 2011, the first openly ...

, the Mayor of Providence, defeated Anthony Gemma, State Representative David Segal, and former

Rhode Island Democratic Party The Rhode Island Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Joseph McNamara is the chair of the party. The party has dominated politics in Rhode Island for the past five decades. Democratic Pa ...

Chairman Bill Lynch in the Democratic primary, while State Representative John Loughlin emerged as the Republican nominee. An aggressive campaign ensued, with Cicilline attacking Loughlin for wanting to privatize

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

, a claim that Loughlin dismissed as one that "couldn't be further from the truth." Loughlin blasted Cicilline for creating "a $70 million deficit for the next mayor to deal with," which Cicilline attributed to budget cuts made by the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...

. The

Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...

, praising Cicilline for being "an honest, energetic, and often innovative mayor," and criticizing Loughlin for "reacting...favorably to the collection of fiscal contradictions known as the House Republicans' 'Pledge to America,'" endorsed Cicilline, calling him a "highly competent public servant." In the end, a surprisingly close race emerged in what should have been an easy win for Cicilline, or any Democratic candidate. Though Cicilline won in the end and was sent to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

for his first term, it was only by a six-point, 10,000 vote margin of victory.

Polling

Results

District 2

Campaign

Democratic Congressman

James Langevin James R. Langevin ( ; born April 22, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first quadriplegic to serve in Congress; Langevin was appointed to be the firs ...

has represented this liberal district based in southern and western

since he was first elected in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Langevin has maintained considerable popularity in this largely supportive constituency, and did not face a real threat to his re-election from his 2008 opponent, Republican Mark Zaccaria. In the general election, Langevin was re-elected by an overwhelming margin, defeating Zaccaria and independent candidate John Matson, who garnered an impressive eight percent of the vote.

Polling

Results

References

External links

Rhode Island Board of ElectionsU.S. Congress candidates for Rhode Island
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Rhode Island U.S. House
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for Rhode Island congressional races
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

2010 Rhode Island General Election
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
House - Rhode Island
from the ''

Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

'' {{United States general elections, 2010

2010 2010 Rhode Island elections