2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Rhode Island, apportioned according to the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on September 11, 2012.^[1]

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island

← 2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014 →
Both Rhode Island seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 0 Seats won 2 0 Seat change Popular vote 232,679 161,926 Percentage 54.39% 37.85% Swing 0.97% 0.01%
District results County results Municipality results Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   80–90% Republican   40–50%   50–60%

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2012 [2]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats before	Seats after	+/–
	Democratic	232,679	54.39%	2	2	-
	Republican	161,926	37.85%	0	0	-
	Independent	32,716	7.65%			-
	Write-In	454	0.11%			-
Totals		427,775	100%	2	2	-

District 1

See also: Rhode Island's 1st congressional district

The redrawn 1st district represents Barrington, Bristol, Central Falls, Cumberland, East Providence, Jamestown, Lincoln, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, North Providence, North Smithfield, Pawtucket, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Tiverton, Warren, Woonsocket, and parts of Providence.^[3]

Democrat David Cicilline, who had represented the 1st district since January 2011, ran for re-election.^[4]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• David Cicilline, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Anthony Gemma, businessman and candidate for this seat in 2010^[5]
• Christopher Young, electrical engineer

Declined

• Bill Lynch, former chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Committee^[6]
• Patrick Lynch, former Attorney General of Rhode Island^[7]
• Dan McKee, mayor of Cumberland^[8]
• David Segal, former state representative^[9][10][11]
• Merrill Sherman, president and chief executive officer of the Bank of Rhode Island^[12]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Cicilline	Anthony Gemma	Undecided
WPRI/Fleming & Associates[13]	May 8–12, 2012	302	± 5.7%	40%	36%	20%

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Cicilline (incumbent)	30,203	62.1
	Democratic	Anthony P. Gemma	14,702	30.2
	Democratic	Christopher F. Young	3,701	7.6
Total votes			48,606	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Brendan Doherty, colonel and the retired superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police^[14]

Declined

• John Loughlin, former state representative and nominee for this seat in 2010^[15]

General election

Endorsements

Brendan Doherty (R)

Organizations

• National Republican Congressional Committee "Young Guns" Program^[16]

Debates

2012 Rhode Island's 1st congressional district debates

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican	Independent
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					David Cicilline	Brendan Doherty	David Vogel
1	Oct. 17, 2012	WPRI	Tim White	YouTube[17]	P	P	N
2	Nov. 1, 2012	American Democracy Project Rhode Island College Chapter WJAR-TV	Bill Rappleye	[18]	P	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Cicilline (D)	Brendan Doherty (R)	David Vogel (I)	Undecided
WPRI/Fleming & Assoc.[19]	October 24–27, 2012	300 (LV)	± 5.7%	43%	42%	6%	8%
OnMessage, Inc.[20]	October 24–25, 2012	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	39%	45%	6%	10%
Brown University[21]	September 26–October 5, 2012	236 (LV)	± 6.3%	46%	40%	7%	7%
WPRI/Fleming & Assoc.[22]	September 26–29, 2012	501 (LV)	± 6.2%	44%	38%	6%	10%
Feldman (D-Cicilline)[23]	September 13–17, 2012	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	46%	36%	7%	11%
Benenson (D-DCCC)[24]	September 13–16, 2012	400 (LV)	± 4.9%	46%	45%	8%	11%
DCCC (D)[25]	September 10, 2012	578 (LV)	± 5.6%	49%	43%	—	8%
WPRI/Fleming & Assoc.[26]	February 20–23, 2012	250 (RV)	± 6.2%	33%	49%	—	16%
WPRI/Fleming & Assoc.[27]	May 13–15, 2011	300 (RV)	± 5.7%	33%	46%	—	20%

Hypothetical polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Anthony Gemma (D)	Brendan Doherty (R)	Other	Undecided
WPRI/Fleming & Assoc.[28]	February 20–23, 2012	250	± 6.2%	28%	41%	4%	27%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[29]	Tossup	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[30]	Tilt D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[31]	Tossup	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[32]	Lean D	November 5, 2012
NY Times[33]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
RCP[34]	Lean D	November 4, 2012
The Hill[35]	Tossup	November 4, 2012

Results

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district, 2012 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Cicilline (incumbent)	108,612	53.0
	Republican	Brendan Doherty	83,737	40.8
	Independent	David S. Vogel	12,504	6.1
	n/a	Write-ins	262	0.1
Total votes			205,115	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

See also: Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district

The redrawn 2nd district will represent Burrillville, Charlestown, Coventry, Cranston, East Greenwich, Exeter, Foster, Glocester, Hopkinton, Johnston, Narragansett, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, Richmond, Scituate, South Kingstown, Warwick, West Greenwich, West Warwick, Westerly, and parts of Providence.^[3]

Democrat James Langevin, who had represented Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district since 2001, ran for re-election.^[36]

Abel Collins, an environmental activist, mounted an independent campaign in the general election.^[37]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• James Langevin, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• John Matson, carpenter and perennial candidate^[38]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Langevin (incumbent)	22,161	74.1
	Democratic	John O. Matson	7,748	25.9
Total votes			29,909	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Michael Riley, hedge fund manager^[39]

Eliminated in primary

• Michael Gardiner, attorney and candidate for this seat in 2010^[40]
• Donald Rubbio
• Kara Russo

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael G. Riley	5,283	65.6
	Republican	Kara D. Russo	1,488	18.5
	Republican	Michael J. Gardiner	825	10.2
	Republican	Donald F. Robbio	454	4.6
Total votes			8,050	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jim Langevin (D)	Michael Riley (R)	Abel Collins (I)	Undecided
WPRI/Fleming & Assoc.[19]	October 24–27, 2012	300	± 5.7%	48%	31%	9%	10%
Aqua Opinion and Policy Research Group[41]	October 5–11, 2012	536	± 4.2%	48%	22%	17%	13%
Brown University[21]	September 26–October 5, 2012	235 (LV)	± 6.3%	49%	32%	5%	14%
WPRI 12[42]	September 26–29, 2012	251	± 6.2%	53%	29%	10%	8%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[43]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg[30]	Safe D	November 2, 2012
Roll Call[31]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball[32]	Safe D	November 5, 2012
NY Times[33]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
RCP[34]	Safe D	November 4, 2012
The Hill[35]	Safe D	November 4, 2012

Results

Rhode Island's 2nd congressional district, 2012 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James Langevin (incumbent)	124,067	55.7
	Republican	Michael G. Riley	78,189	35.1
	Independent	Abel G. Collins	20,212	9.1
	n/a	Write-ins	192	0.1
Total votes			222,660	100.0
	Democratic hold