Election Wrap Up

As expected, Rhode Island was a Democratic landslide. Obama won 63/35. The national trend of record turnout also held true in the state, 450,000 Rhode Islanders hit the polls.

Some interesting legislation passed on Tuesday. A referendum that OKed the issuance of bonds for farmland that will be continued to be raised as farmland. This will prohibit any development. The current project is estimated around $2.5 million and with cost that number could approach $ 4 million in the future.

The Democrats outnumber Republicans in the state 4 to 1 in voter turnout. Neither candidate campaigned there.

The winner is

Endorsements for Obama

The Providence Journal endorses Barack Obama for President saying, “The Illinois Democrat’s self-discipline, calm, intelligence, experiences, eloquence and ability to reach out to a panorama of Americans with widely different backgrounds have impressed us.”

The GOP is sending Mike Huckabee to Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, New York and Rhode Island. Why New York and Rhode Island? I question how receptive they will be to the Baptist politician. Hey Mike, take Chuck with you that round house kick may come in handy in those very BLUE states. 

10 days to go

With ten days to go the swing states are receiving lots of attention from the candidates and their surrogates. Rhode Island is DECIDED for Obama. It has been blue for generations and there is no evidence that a new hue will soon come into view.

Weekly Update

Barack Obama’s campaign masters the art of political surrogacy. This week it’s a fellow junior Senator from Rhode Island who’s helping the Presidential hopeful in the now “too close to call” New Hampshire.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse killed to birds with one stone during his visit to Plymouth State University; get out and vote combined with an update the plight of whales and other marine mammals.

With little doubt that Rhode Island would again vote Democratic blue rather than Republican red on Nov. 4, Whitehouse said he came north to the Granite State to campaign for Obama, adding "it's exciting to be here in a real battleground state."


Sen. McCain has been attempting to secure a foothold for the Republicans and has bee popular in this state. However, things are not going well, recent polling suggest a steady increase for Obama. Every indication, the state has been slipping into the Democratic column. John Sununu, the Republican senator, is a top target in November.

What a week!

Early registration ended October 4th.

The controversial State Senate race between Sen. Alves and Michal Pigna I reported on earlier has come to a nasty legal head. The State Supreme Court hopes to hear the case by October 9th since the ballots must be finalized by the 20th. A recount of the state’s Board of Elections confirmed Pigna’s win by a mere 17 votes. The incumbent Alves, served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Both Congressmen voted in favor of the bailout bill twice. Curious to see how everyone voted? Click here for a listing of how each Representative voted on the 1st Bill and Here for the 2nd piece of legislation.

Democrats are hoping to win back the governor’s mansion after 16 long years. The odds are looking good in their favor, since the Republican bench appears thin.