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A Democratic Party primary took place on September 13, 2022, in Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate would run in the district's general election on November 8, 2022.

Seth Magaziner advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 2.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
July 15, 2022	September 13, 2022	November 8, 2022

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.

Rhode Island utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in a party's primary without affiliating with that party. Voters that are affiliated with a party at the time of the primary election may only vote in that party's primary.^[1]^[2]^[3]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 2

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Rhode Island District 2 on September 13, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Seth Magaziner	54.0	30,309
	David Segal	16.2	9,067
	Sarah Morgenthau	11.9	6,696
	Joy Fox	10.9	6,112
	Omar Bah	4.6	2,600
	Spencer Dickinson	2.3	1,318

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,102
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Rhode Island in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Rhode Island, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Rhode Island	U.S. House	All candidates	500	N/A	7/15/2022	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting.
Effect of redistricting - How districts in the state changed as a result of redistricting following the 2020 census.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2022 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

	2024 → ← 2020
Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: July 15, 2022
	Primary: September 13, 2022; General: November 8, 2022
How to vote
	Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Voting in Rhode Island
Race ratings
	Cook Partisan Voter Index (2022): D+4; Cook Political Report: Toss-up; Inside Elections: Toss-up; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
See also
	Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District; 1st • 2nd; Rhode Island elections, 2022; U.S. Congress elections, 2022; U.S. Senate elections, 2022; U.S. House elections, 2022; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Below was the map in use at the time of the election, enacted as part of the 2020 redistricting cycle, compared to the map in place before the election.

Rhode Island District 2
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Rhode Island District 2
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Effect of redistricting

See also: Redistricting in Rhode Island after the 2020 census

The table below details the results of the 2020 presidential election in each district at the time of the 2022 election and its political predecessor district.^[4] This data was compiled by Daily Kos Elections.^[5]

2020 presidential results by Congressional district, Rhode Island
District	2022 district		Political predecessor district
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Rhode Island's 1st	63.8%	34.7%	63.9%	34.6%
Rhode Island's 2nd	56.1%	42.4%	56.0%	42.5%

Competitiveness

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2022

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Rhode Island.

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Rhode Island in 2022. Information below was calculated on September 8, 2022, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Nine candidates filed to run for Rhode Island's two U.S. House districts, including seven Democrats and two Republicans. That's 4.5 candidates per district, more than the 2.5 candidates per district in 2020 and the three in 2018.

This was the first election to take place under new district lines following the 2020 census. Rhode Island was apportioned two districts, the same number it was apportioned after the 2010 census. The nine candidates who ran this year were four more than the five who ran in 2020 and three more than the six who ran in 2018. Seven candidates ran in 2016, six in 2014, and 12 in 2012.

There’s was an open seat for the first time since 2010. Rep. Jim Langevin (D), the incumbent in the 2nd district, retired. Seven candidates—six Democrats and one Republican—ran to replace Langevin, the most candidates who ran for a seat this year. Rep. David Cicilline (R), the incumbent in the 1st district, ran for re-election and did not face any primary challengers.

The Democratic primary in the 2nd district was the only contested primary this year. That number was a decade low. There were two contested primaries in 2020, 2018, 2016, and 2014. There were four contested primaries in 2012.

Democratic and Republican candidates filed to run in both districts, so no seats were guaranteed to either party this year.

Presidential elections

Partisan Voter Index

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

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+4. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 4 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Rhode Island's 2nd the 170th most Democratic district nationally.^[6]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Rhode Island's 2nd based on 2022 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
56.1%	42.4%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Rhode Island, 2020

Rhode Island presidential election results (1900-2020)

21 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
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

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Rhode Island and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Rhode Island
	Rhode Island	United States
Population	1,052,567	308,745,538
Land area (sq mi)	1,033	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	80.5%	72.5%
Black/African American	6.8%	12.7%
Asian	3.4%	5.5%
Native American	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.1%	0.2%
Other (single race)	5.5%	4.9%
Multiple	3.3%	3.3%
Hispanic/Latino	15.4%	18%
Education
High school graduation rate	88.8%	88%
College graduation rate	34.2%	32.1%
Income
Median household income	$67,167	$62,843
Persons below poverty level	12.4%	13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

State party control

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Rhode Island's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Rhode Island, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	2	4
Republican	0	0	0
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	2	4

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Rhode Island's top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Rhode Island, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Daniel McKee
Lieutenant Governor	Sabina Matos
Secretary of State	Nellie Gorbea
Attorney General	Peter Neronha

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Rhode Island State Legislature as of November 2022.

Rhode Island State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	33
	Republican Party	5
	Vacancies	0
Total		38

Rhode Island House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	65
	Republican Party	10
	Independent	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		75

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Rhode Island was a Democratic trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2022
Thirteen 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
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
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
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

External links

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Footnotes

↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 22, 2024
↑ Bill Track 50, "RI H7662," accessed July 21, 2024
↑ State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "R.I. Gen. Laws § 17–9.1-23 ," accessed July 22, 2024
↑ Political predecessor districts are determined primarily based on incumbents and where each chose to seek re-election.
↑ Daily Kos Elections, "Daily Kos Elections 2020 presidential results by congressional district (old CDs vs. new CDs)," accessed May 12, 2022
↑ Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed February 6, 2023

[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)

[1] National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 22, 2024

[2] Bill Track 50, "RI H7662," accessed July 21, 2024

[3] State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "R.I. Gen. Laws § 17–9.1-23 ," accessed July 22, 2024

[4] Political predecessor districts are determined primarily based on incumbents and where each chose to seek re-election.

[5] Daily Kos Elections, "Daily Kos Elections 2020 presidential results by congressional district (old CDs vs. new CDs)," accessed May 12, 2022

[6] Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed February 6, 2023

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Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022 (September 13 Democratic primary)

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