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Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

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Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 24, 2020
Primary: September 8, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
David Cicilline (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
Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd
Rhode Island elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Rhode Island, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent David N. Cicilline won election in the general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1.

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


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat David Cicilline, who was first elected in 2010.

As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District was located in the northern and eastern portions of the state. The district included all of Bristol and Newport counties and a portion of Providence County.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 63.9 70.8
Republican candidate Republican Party 34.6 0
Difference 29.3 70.8

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.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Incumbent David N. Cicilline defeated Frederick Wysocki and Jeffrey Lemire in the general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David N. Cicilline
David N. Cicilline (D)
 
70.8
 
158,550
Image of Frederick Wysocki
Frederick Wysocki (Independent)
 
15.8
 
35,457
Image of Jeffrey Lemire
Jeffrey Lemire (Independent)
 
12.6
 
28,300
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7
 
1,553

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 223,860
Candidate Connection = 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Incumbent David N. Cicilline advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 8, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David N. Cicilline
David N. Cicilline
 
100.0
 
25,234

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 25,234
Candidate Connection = 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.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of five Rhode Island counties—20 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Kent County, Rhode Island 0.67% 17.74% 17.40%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Rhode Island with 54.4 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 38.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Rhode Island cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Rhode Island supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 66.7 to 33.3 percent. The state favored Democrats in every election between between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Rhode Island. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 73 out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 33.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 57 out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 30.4 points. Clinton won three districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won two out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 5.5 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 18 out of 75 state House districts in Rhode Island with an average margin of victory of 11.1 points. Trump won 11 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 14 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District the 98th most Democratic nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.17. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.17 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] 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.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
David N. Cicilline Democratic Party $1,587,330 $1,755,649 $529,048 As of December 31, 2020
Jeffrey Lemire Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Frederick Wysocki Independent $13,067 $13,398 $321 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.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


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.[8]
  • 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.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 1st Congressional District candidates in Rhode Island in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Rhode Island, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Rhode Island 1st Congressional District Recognized party 250 Reduced for 2020 N/A N/A 6/24/2020 (declaration of candidacy due); 7/10/2020 (nomination papers due) Source
Rhode Island 1st Congressional District Unaffiliated 250 Reduced for 2020 N/A N/A 76/24/2020 (declaration of candidacy due); 7/10/2020 (nomination papers due) Source

District election history

2018

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Incumbent David N. Cicilline defeated Patrick Donovan in the general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David N. Cicilline
David N. Cicilline (D)
 
66.7
 
116,099
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Patrick Donovan (R)
 
33.1
 
57,567
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
417

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 174,083
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Incumbent David N. Cicilline defeated Christopher Young in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 12, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of David N. Cicilline
David N. Cicilline
 
78.0
 
47,762
Image of Christopher Young
Christopher Young
 
22.0
 
13,474

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 61,236
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Patrick Donovan defeated Frederick Wysocki in the Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 12, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Patrick Donovan
 
78.3
 
7,574
Image of Frederick Wysocki
Frederick Wysocki
 
21.7
 
2,093

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

Total votes: 9,667
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent David Cicilline (D) defeated Russell Taub (R), Rufus Bailey Jr. (I), and Jeff Lemire (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Cicilline defeated Christopher Young in the Democratic primary on September 13, 2016.[12][13][14]

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Cicilline Incumbent 64.5% 130,534
     Republican Russell Taub 35.1% 71,023
     N/A Write-in 0.4% 814
Total Votes 202,371
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections


U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Cicilline Incumbent 67.6% 24,136
Christopher Young 32.4% 11,594
Total Votes 35,730
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections

2014

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District elections, 2014

David N. Cicilline won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeated Cormick Lynch in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Cicilline Incumbent 59.5% 87,060
     Republican Cormick Lynch 40.2% 58,877
     N/A Write-in 0.3% 416
Total Votes 146,353
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
  2. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  3. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  4. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  5. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  6. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  7. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  8. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  9. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  10. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  12. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates for Representative," accessed June 30, 2016
  13. ↑ Politico, "Rhode Island House Primary Results," September 13, 2016
  14. ↑ CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016


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
Democratic Party (4)


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