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Rhode Island Secretary of State election, 2026 (September 8 Democratic primary)

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2022
Rhode Island Secretary of State
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 24, 2026
Primary: September 8, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Rhode Island

Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2026
Impact of term limits in 2026
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
Rhode Island
executive elections
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Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Secretary of State
Treasurer

A Democratic Party primary takes place on September 8, 2026, in Rhode Island to determine which candidate will earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's secretary of state election on November 3, 2026.


This page focuses on Rhode Island's Democratic Party Secretary of State primary. For more in-depth information on Rhode Island's Republican Secretary of State primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

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

There are no official candidates yet for this election.


Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Rhode Island

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.


See also: Presidential voting trends in Rhode Island and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Rhode Island, 2026
District Incumbent PVI
Rhode Island's 1st Gabe Amo D+12
Rhode Island's 2nd Seth Magaziner D+4

2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines

2024 presidential results in congressional districts, Rhode Island
District Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
Rhode Island's 1st 60.0% 38.0%
Rhode Island's 2nd 52.0% 46.0%
Source: The Downballot

2016-2024

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2024 presidential election, 84.4% of Rhode Islanders lived in one of the state's 4 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 15.6% lived in one of 1 Trending Democratic counties. Overall, Rhode Island was Solid Democratic, having voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, Joe Biden (D) in 2020, and Kamala Harris (D) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Rhode Island following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Rhode Island presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 22 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 2024
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 D

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Rhode Island

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Rhode Island.

U.S. Senate election results in Rhode Island
Race Winner Runner up
2024 59.9%Democratic Party 39.8%Republican Party
2020 66.6%Democratic Party 33.4%Republican Party
2018 61.6%Democratic Party 38.4%Republican Party
2014 70.6%Democratic Party 29.3%Republican Party
2012 64.8%Democratic Party 35.0%Republican Party
Average 64.7 35.2

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Rhode Island

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Rhode Island.

Gubernatorial election results in Rhode Island
Race Winner Runner up
2022 57.9%Democratic Party 38.9%Republican Party
2018 52.6%Democratic Party 37.2%Republican Party
2014 40.7%Democratic Party 36.2%Republican Party
2010 36.1%Grey.png (Independent) 33.6%Republican Party
2006 51.0%Republican Party 49.0%Democratic Party
Average 47.7 39.0
See also: Party control of Rhode Island state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Rhode Island's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Rhode Island
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 October 2025.

State executive officials in Rhode Island, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Democratic Party Daniel McKee
Lieutenant Governor Democratic Party Sabina Matos
Secretary of State Democratic Party Gregg Amore
Attorney General Democratic Party Peter Neronha

State legislature

Rhode Island State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 34
     Republican Party 4
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 38

Rhode Island House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 64
     Republican Party 10
     Other 1
     Vacancies 0
Total 75

Trifecta control

Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2025
Sixteen 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 23 24 25
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 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 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 D D D

The table below details demographic data in Rhode Island and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.

Demographic Data for Rhode Island
Rhode Island United States
Population 1,097,379 331,449,281
Land area (sq mi) 1,033 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 72.3% 63.4%
Black/African American 5.8% 12.4%
Asian 3.5% 5.8%
Native American 0.4% 0.9%
Pacific Islander 0.2% 0.4%
Other (single race) 7.1% 6.6%
Multiple 10.7% 10.7%
Hispanic/Latino 17.1% 19%
Education
High school graduation rate 89.5% 89.4%
College graduation rate 37.3% 35%
Income
Median household income $86,372 $78,538
Persons below poverty level 10.9% 12.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**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 profile

Demographic data for Rhode Island
 Rhode IslandU.S.
Total population:1,055,607316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):1,0343,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:81.1%73.6%
Black/African American:6.5%12.6%
Asian:3.2%5.1%
Native American:0.5%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.8%3%
Hispanic/Latino:13.6%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:86.2%86.7%
College graduation rate:31.9%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$56,852$53,889
Persons below poverty level:17.3%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Rhode Island.
**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.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Rhode Island

Rhode Island voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Rhode Island, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[1]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Rhode Island had one Boomerang Pivot County, 4.00 percent of all Boomerang Pivot Counties.

More Rhode Island coverage on Ballotpedia

See also

Rhode Island State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Rhode Island State Executive Offices
Rhode Island State Legislature
Rhode Island Courts
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Rhode Island elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.