Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District

Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District

Incumbent

Gabe Amo

Assumed office: November 13, 2023

Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Gabe Amo (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Rhode Island representatives represented an average of 549,082 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 527,624 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2024

Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (September 10 Republican primary)

Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (September 10 Democratic primary)

General election

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

Incumbent Gabe Amo defeated Allen Waters and Christopher Reynolds in the general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabe Amo (D)	63.0	139,352
		Allen Waters (R)	32.0	70,742
	Submit photo	Christopher Reynolds (Independent)	4.7	10,463
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	561

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 221,118
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

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

Incumbent Gabe Amo advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabe Amo	100.0	26,696

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,696
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Eddy Medrano (D)

Republican primary election

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

Allen Waters advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 10, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Allen Waters	100.0	5,033

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,033
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeffrey Lemire (R)

2023

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District special election, 2023

Former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Gabe Amo (D) defeated Marine Veteran Gerry Leonard (R) to win the special election to fill the seat representing Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House on November 7, 2023. The primary election was held September 5, 2023. The filing deadline was June 30, 2023.

The special election filled the vacancy left by David Cicilline (D), who resigned on May 31, 2023, to run the Rhode Island Foundation.

Amo listed "preventing gun violence and ensuring safe communities ... protecting social security and medicare and lowering the cost of prescription drugs ... ensuring access to safe, legal abortion for all" and "fighting climate change" as some of his top issues.

Leonard said the "national debt is the biggest issue that is going to affect our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren" and said the country needs to grow the economy by "enacting pro-growth policies, reducing red tape, and incentivizing small and mid-size businesses."

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.

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1

Gabe Amo defeated Gerry Leonard in the special general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabe Amo (D)	64.9	43,290
		Gerry Leonard (R)	35.1	23,393

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,683
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Stephen Earle (Independent)
• Julian J. Smith (Independent)
• Richard O'Shea (Independent)
• John Vitkevich (Independent)
• Jeffrey Lemire (Independent)
• Christopher Reynolds (Independent)
• Joseph Jean-Philippe (Independent)
• Paul Rianna Jr. (Independent)
• John Ritchie (Independent)

Democratic primary election

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

The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 5, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gabe Amo	32.4	12,946
		J. Aaron Regunberg	24.9	9,960
		Sandra Cano	13.9	5,574
		Sabina Matos	8.0	3,210
		Stephen Casey	5.8	2,329
		Walter Berbrick	3.6	1,453
		Ana Quezada	3.5	1,415
		John Goncalves	2.8	1,118
		Don Carlson (Unofficially withdrew)	1.7	690
		Allen Waters	1.3	503
		Stephanie Beauté	1.1	428
		Spencer Dickinson	0.9	354

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,980
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bella Noka (D)
• Nicholas Autiello II (D)
• Nathan Biah (D)
• Paul LeBon (D)
• Toni Sfameni (D)
• Kathleen Gaskell (D)
• Larry Hutchinson Jr. (D)
• Gregory Mundy (D)
• Michael Tillinghast (D)
• Marvin Abney (D)
• Mickeda Barnes (D)

Republican primary election

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

Gerry Leonard defeated Terri Flynn in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 5, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Gerry Leonard	75.7	3,076
		Terri Flynn	24.3	989

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,065
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• William LeBron Jr. (R)
• Barrett Lynton (R)
• Gary Donald (R)
• Uloma Ekpete Kama (R)

2022

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2022

General election

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

Incumbent David N. Cicilline defeated Allen Waters in the general election for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David N. Cicilline (D)	64.0	100,318
		Allen Waters (R)	35.8	56,055
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	361

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 156,734
= 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

• Jeffrey Lemire (Independent)
• Lenine Camacho (Independent)

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 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David N. Cicilline	100.0	46,610

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 46,610
= 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.
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Republican primary election

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

Allen Waters advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 1 on September 13, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Allen Waters	100.0	6,975

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,975
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Frederick Wysocki (R)

2020

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

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
✔		David N. Cicilline (D)	70.8	158,550
		Frederick Wysocki (Independent)	15.8	35,457
		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 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.
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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
✔		David N. Cicilline	100.0	25,234

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,234
= 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.
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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
✔		David N. Cicilline (D)	66.7	116,099
	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 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Daniel Guilmette (Independent)

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
✔		David N. Cicilline	78.0	47,762
		Christopher Young	22.0	13,474

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 61,236
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Hamlet Lopez (D)

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
✔	Submit photo	Patrick Donovan	78.3	7,574
		Frederick Wysocki	21.7	2,093

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,667
= 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.
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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.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David 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
David 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

The 1st Congressional District of Rhode Island held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent David N. Cicilline (D) defeated Cormick Lynch (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David 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

2012

See also: Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012

The 1st Congressional District of Rhode Island held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent David N. Cicilline won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David Cicilline Incumbent	53%	108,612
	Republican	Brendan Doherty	40.8%	83,737
	Independent	David S. Vogel	6.1%	12,504
	Write-In	N/A	0.1%	262
Total Votes				205,115
Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, David Cicilline won election to the United States House. He defeated John J. Loughlin II (R), Kenneth A. Capalbo (I) and Gregory Raposa (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	David N. Cicilline	50.6%	81,269
	Republican	John J. Loughlin II	44.6%	71,542
	Independent	Kenneth A. Capalbo	4%	6,424
	Independent	Gregory Raposa	0.8%	1,334
Total Votes				160,569

2008

On November 4, 2008, Patrick J. Kennedy won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jonathan P. Scott (R), Kenneth A. Capalbo (I) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick J. Kennedy incumbent	68.5%	145,254
	Republican	Jonathan P. Scott	24.2%	51,340
	Independent	Kenneth A. Capalbo	7.1%	15,108
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	296
Total Votes				211,998

2006

On November 7, 2006, Patrick J. Kennedy won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jonathan P. Scott (R) and Kenneth A. Capalbo (I) in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick J. Kennedy incumbent	69.2%	124,634
	Republican	Jonathan P. Scott	23.2%	41,836
	Independent	Kenneth A. Capalbo	7.6%	13,634
Total Votes				180,104

2004

On November 2, 2004, Patrick J. Kennedy won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David W. Rogers (R) and a nonpartisan write-in challenger. in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick J. Kennedy incumbent	64.1%	124,923
	Republican	David W. Rogers	35.8%	69,819
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.1%	268
Total Votes				195,010

2002

On November 5, 2002, Patrick J. Kennedy won re-election to the United States House. He defeated David W. Rogers (R), Frank Carter (I) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick J. Kennedy incumbent	59.9%	95,286
	Republican	David W. Rogers	37.3%	59,370
	Independent	Frank Carter	2.7%	4,318
	N/A	Write-in	0.1%	159
Total Votes				159,133

2000

On November 7, 2000, Patrick J. Kennedy won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Stephen Cabral (R) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Rhode Island District 1 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Patrick J. Kennedy incumbent	66.6%	123,442
	Republican	Stephen Cabral	33.2%	61,522
	N/A	Write-in	0.2%	287
Total Votes				185,251

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Rhode Island after the 2020 census

Rhode Island enacted new congressional district boundaries on February 16, 2022, when Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed redistricting legislation that the General Assembly had approved the day before. The State House of Representatives passed the district boundaries, 57-6, with 53 Democrats and four Republicans voting in favor and four Republicans and two Democrats voting against. The State Senate approved the new maps 29-9 with all 'yes' votes from Democrats and five Republicans and four Democrats voting 'no.'

Patrick Anderson and Katherine Gregg wrote in The Providence Journal that "ruling Democrats didn't make major map changes to protect the state's Second Congressional District from a GOP takeover attempt, even after incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin announced he would not run for reelection. In the last redistricting a decade ago, the Assembly shifted tens of thousands of Democratic voters from the second district into the first district, benefitting Rep. David Cicilline, who was facing his first reelection campaign."

How does redistricting in Rhode Island work? In Rhode Island, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Rhode Island General Assembly. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.

An 18-member advisory commission established in 2011 can recommend congressional and state legislative redistricting plans to the state legislature. The legislature may "adopt, modify, or ignore the commission's proposals." The composition of the commission is as follows:

1. The majority leader of the Rhode Island State Senate chooses four commissioners who are state legislators and three who are not, for a total of seven commissioners.
2. The majority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives chooses four commissioners who are state legislators and three who are not, for a total of seven commissioners.
3. The minority leader of the Rhode Island State Senate chooses two commissioners who are state legislators.
4. The minority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives chooses two commissioners who are state legislators.

The Rhode Island Constitution requires that state legislative districts be compact.

State statutes require that congressional and state legislative districts meet the following criteria:

1. Districts should be contiguous.
2. Districts should "reflect natural, historical, geographical, and municipal and other political lines, 'as well as the right of all Rhode Islanders to fair representation and equal access to the political process.'"
3. "The lines of state House, state Senate and congressional districts [should] coincide–or at least, if they do not overlap completely, they should avoid creating voting precincts with distinct ballot options where the precinct has fewer than 100 people."

Rhode Island District 1
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Rhode Island District 1
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 1st Congressional District prior to the 2010 redistricting.

See also: Redistricting in Rhode Island after the 2010 census

The R.I. Reapportionment Commission approved a new congressional map in 2010 based on census data.

District analysis

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

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+12. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Rhode Island's 1st the 112th most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+12. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Rhode Island's 1st the 113th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 63.8%-34.7%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+12. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Rhode Island's 1st the 112th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 63.8% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 34.7%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+14. This meant that in those 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.

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.

See also

• Redistricting in Rhode Island
• Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
• Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2022
• Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2020
• Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 1

Footnotes

[show]

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

Seth Magaziner (D)

Democratic Party (4)