SMU Election Project Rhode Island

Election Wrap Up

2008-11-07T09:39:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

Endorsements for Obama

2008-10-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

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.”

2008-10-26T16:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-10-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

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.

Little news from the little state…

2008-09-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Recount troubles for State Sen. Stephen Alves. Alves and his attorneys filed an appeal to the Rhode Island Supreme Court asking it to overturn the Board of Elections and host another primary in the race he lost. They expect a verdict early this week.

Obama need an ego boost? Drop by Rhode Island. Up double digits in this week’s polls it looks like the state will vote for a Democrat for 9 of the last 11 elections.

McCain suspended his campaign this week putting “country first” during these difficult financial times. The campaign effectively slowed the media giants coverage of the campaign evidance by CBS field producer Arden Farhi’s blog posting "Sparce Attendance on Air Biden" stating that there were a mere 11 members of the press with the VP nominee Thursday evening.

Week in review

2008-09-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

She’s baaaack! Hillary Clinton made her first public appearance in Rhode Island since ending her Presidential campaign over the weekend.

This trip centered on economic troubles. The afternoon pastry party was held at Alan Hassenfeld’s home in Bristol. Hassendeld is the chairman of Hasbro Inc and hosted the event for Clinton’s political action committee. According to the Federal Election Commission, as of July Clinton was almost $24 million in debt.

Obama’s lead in the state remains secure over Sen. McCain. The Congressional Quarterly’s state-by-state rundown cited the latest Rasmussen Reports where Obama is up 58 to 39.

And the state goes to...

2008-09-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

STRONG Obama

The Democrats dominate this section of the New England basin. The last four election cycles have painted the state blue and by all accounts the trend will hold true in 2008.

Despite a Republican Governor all of the Congressional representation is Democrats.

Fivethirtyeight.com’s current polling shows Obama at 98% to McCain’s 3%... Need I say more?!?

Sen. Jack Reed clinches Democratic Primary

2008-09-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

According to the Boston Globe, Sen. Jack Reed beat out a long-shot opponent in Rhode Island's only contested races.

Rhode Island's other senator, Whitehouse, is not up for re-election until 2012, and Congressmen Jim Langevin and Patrick Kennedy did not face primary opponents.

Primary Election

2008-09-08T16:08:00.000-07:00

Rhode Island, 1 of 7 states to hold primaries Tuesday, will decide nominations for congressional seats and state officials.

Welcome

2008-09-08T12:15:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the state of Rhode Island's page for the Southern Methodist Election Project. The Corporate Communication and Public Affairs department's Political Communications class will be charting all 50 states in the Union during the 2008 Election Season.