# 2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

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Question 1 :
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vte :
The 2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the governor of Rhode Island, concurrently with the election of Rhode Island's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
On September 12, 2018, incumbent governor Gina Raimondo and Cranston mayor and 2014 gubernatorial nominee Allan Fung won the Democratic and Republican primaries respectively, facing each other in a rematch of the 2014 election. Raimondo defeated Fung in the general election on November 6 to win a second term as governor, improving on her plurality win in 2014 to earn a majority of the votes, and becoming the first gubernatorial candidate (incumbent or challenger) to win a majority of votes since Donald Carcieri in 2006. It was also the first time that a Democrat was re-elected as Governor of Rhode Island since Bruce Sundlun won a second term in 1992, and the first time ever they did so for four-year terms.

## Democratic primary
### Candidates
#### Nominated

* Gina Raimondo, incumbent governor

#### Eliminated in primary

* Matt Brown, former Secretary of State of Rhode Island and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2006
* Spencer Dickinson, former state representative

#### Withdrawn

* Paul Roselli, president of the Burrillville Land Trust (running for State Senate Dist. 23) (endorsed Matt Brown)

#### Declined

* Lincoln Chafee, former governor and candidate for president of the United States in 2016
* James Langevin, U.S. representative
* Daniel McKee, lieutenant governor (running for reelection)
* Angel Taveras, former mayor of Providence and candidate for governor in 2014

### Endorsements

Statewide politicians
* Lincoln Chafee, former US senator and former governor
Local officials
* Jeanine Calkin, state senator
* Lauren Niedel, Rhode Island Democratic Party State Committeewoman
Individuals
* Capri Catanzaro, political director of Rhode Island Progressive Democrats
* Andrea James-Gomez, Youth & Programs director of Rhode Island for Community & Justice
* Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America
* Barbara Roberts, director, Women's Cardiac Center, the Miriam Hospital
* Paul Roselli, president of Burrillville Land Trust, candidate for state senate, withdrawn Democratic candidate for governor
* Gloria Steinem, feminist, journalist, and social political activist
Organizations
* Climate Action RI
* IndivisibleRI
* Justice Democrats
* Our Revolution RI
* RI Progressive Democrats

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Gina Raimondo (incumbent) | 66,978 | 57.1 |
| | Democratic | Matt Brown | 39,300 | 33.5 |
| | Democratic | Spencer Dickinson | 10,926 | 9.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 117,204 | 100.0 |

## Republican primary
### Candidates
#### Nominated

* Allan Fung, mayor of Cranston and nominee for governor in 2014

#### Eliminated in primary

* Giovanni Feroce, businessman, former state senator and nominee for lieutenant governor in 1994
* Patricia Morgan, minority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives

#### Declined

* Robert Flanders, former associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court (running for U.S. Senate)
* Robert Nardolillo, state representative (running for U.S. Senate)
* Joe Trillo, former state representative (running as an independent)
* John Hazen White, businessman

### Endorsements

Federal officials
* Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary
State officials
* Lincoln Almond, former governor
* Michael Chippendale, state representative
* Frank Maher, former state senator
* Brian Newberry, state representative
* Thomas Paolino, state senator
* Mike Pinga, former state senator
Local officials
* Trent Colford, Cranston city councilman
* Michael Farina, president of the Cranston City Council
* Michael Favicchio, vice president of the Cranston City Council
* Liana Ferreira-Fenton, Middletown school committeewoman
* Rolland Grant, former mayor of East Providence
* Scott Hirst, town moderator of Hopkinton
* Kenneth Hopkins, Cranston city councilman
* Michael Isaacs, former president of the East Greenwich Town Council
* Frank Landolfi, president of the Hopkinton Town Council
* Kevin McGovern, president of the Exeter Town Council
* Matthew Mannix, president pro tem of the Narragansett Town Council
* Christopher Paplauskas, Cranston city councilman
* Glen Shibley, president of the Coventry Town Council
Party leadership
* Mark Smiley, former chair of the Rhode Island Republican Party
* Mark Zaccaria, former chair of the Rhode Island Republican Party
Organizations
* Cranston Republican City Committee
* Cumberland Republican Town Committee
* International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 301
* Lincoln Republican Town Committee
* Middletown Republican Town Committee
* North Kingstown Republican Town Committee
* South Kingstown Republican Town Committee
* Warwick Republican City Committee
* Woonsocket Republican City Committee
Newspapers
* Cranston Herald

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Allan Fung | Patricia Morgan | Other | Undecided |
| National Research Inc. (R-Morgan) | July 23–24, 2018 | 400 | – | 44% | 33% | – | 18% |
| Public Opinion Strategies (R-Fung) | July 11–14, 2018 | 400 | ± 4.9% | 62% | 22% | 4% | 10% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Allan Fung | Patricia Morgan | Joe Trillo | Undecided |
| TargetPoint (R-Fung) | November 4–6, 2017 | 433 | ± 4.0% | 45% | 24% | 10% | 20% |

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Allan Fung | 18,577 | 56.4 |
| | Republican | Patricia Morgan | 13,208 | 40.1 |
| | Republican | Giovanni Feroce | 1,147 | 3.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 32,932 | 100.0 |

## Moderate primary
### Candidates
#### Declared

* Bill Gilbert, chairman of the Moderate Party of Rhode Island and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014

## Independents
### Declared

* Luis Daniel Muñoz, physician and community organizer
* Joe Trillo, former Republican state representative

### Failed to qualify

* Rebecca McLaughlin

### Declined

* Matt Brown, former Secretary of State of Rhode Island (running as a Democrat)

## Minor third parties
### Declared

* Anne Armstrong (Compassion Party), cannabis activist

## General election
### Debates

* Complete video of debate, September 27, 2018
* Complete video of debate, October 15, 2018

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Lean D | October 26, 2018 |
| The Washington Post | Lean D | November 5, 2018 |
| FiveThirtyEight | Safe D | November 5, 2018 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Lean D | November 1, 2018 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
| RealClearPolitics | Likely D | November 4, 2018 |
| Daily Kos | Lean D | November 5, 2018 |
| Fox News | Likely D | November 5, 2018 |
| Politico | Lean D | November 5, 2018 |
| Governing | Lean D | November 5, 2018 |

#### Notes

* ↑ The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Gina Raimondo (D) | Allan Fung (R) | Joe Trillo (I) | Other | Undecided |
| Fleming & Associates | October 20–24, 2018 | 416 | ± 4.8% | 45% | 34% | 9% | 4% | 8% |
| SocialSphere | October 5–9, 2018 | 502 | – | 40% | 32% | 17% | – | 11% |
| University of New Hampshire | September 27 – October 6, 2018 | 503 | ± 4.4% | 48% | 34% | 5% | 3% | 11% |
| Fleming & Associates | September 14–17, 2018 | 420 | ± 4.8% | 43% | 36% | 7% | 4% | 9% |
| Fleming & Associates | July 28–31, 2018 | 407 | ± 4.8% | 39% | 37% | 6% | 3% | 14% |
| SocialSphere | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 33% | 33% | 16% | – | 18% |
| Fleming & Associates | February 25–28, 2018 | 419 | ± 4.8% | 38% | 36% | 6% | – | 17% |
| TargetPoint (R-Fung) | November 4–6, 2017 | 600 | ± 4.0% | 41% | 46% | – | – | – |
with Gina Raimondo and Patricia Morgan
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Gina Raimondo (D) | Patricia Morgan (R) | Joe Trillo (I) | Other | Undecided |
| Fleming & Associates | July 28–31, 2018 | 407 | ± 4.8% | 42% | 24% | 8% | 5% | 22% |
| SocialSphere | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 39% | 20% | 19% | – | 22% |
| Fleming & Associates | February 25–28, 2018 | 419 | ± 4.8% | 43% | 25% | 9% | – | 20% |
with Gina Raimondo and Giovanni Feroce
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Gina Raimondo (D) | Giovanni Feroce (R) | Joe Trillo (I) | Other | Undecided |
| Fleming & Associates | July 28–31, 2018 | 407 | ± 4.8% | 44% | 9% | 12% | 6% | 30% |
with Matt Brown and Allan Fung
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Matt Brown (D) | Allan Fung (R) | Joe Trillo (I) | Other | Undecided |
| Fleming & Associates | July 28–31, 2018 | 407 | ± 4.8% | 21% | 36% | 7% | 6% | 30% |
| SocialSphere | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 25% | 35% | 14% | – | 27% |
with Matt Brown and Patricia Morgan
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Matt Brown (D) | Patricia Morgan (R) | Joe Trillo (I) | Other | Undecided |
| Fleming & Associates | July 28–31, 2018 | 407 | ± 4.8% | 25% | 21% | 9% | 8% | 36% |
| SocialSphere | May 30 – June 4, 2018 | 501 | – | 30% | 20% | 18% | – | 33% |
with Matt Brown and Giovanni Feroce
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Matt Brown (D) | Giovanni Feroce (R) | Joe Trillo (I) | Other | Undecided |
| Fleming & Associates | July 28–31, 2018 | 407 | ± 4.8% | 27% | 8% | 11% | 10% | 43% |

### Results

Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2018 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Gina Raimondo (incumbent) | 198,122 | 52.64% | +11.94% |
| | Republican | Allan Fung | 139,932 | 37.18% | +0.94% |
| | Independent | Joe Trillo | 16,532 | 4.39% | N/A |
| | Moderate | Bill Gilbert | 10,155 | 2.70% | −18.68% |
| | Independent | Luis Daniel Muñoz | 6,223 | 1.65% | N/A |
| | Compassion | Anne Armstrong | 4,191 | 1.11% | N/A |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 1,246 | 0.33% | +0.10% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 376,401 | 100% | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### By congressional district

Raimondo won both congressional districts.
| District | Raimondo | Fung | Representative |
| 1st | 59% | 31% | David Cicilline |
| 2nd | 47% | 43% | James Langevin |