How Rhode Island has voted since 1960

Rhode Island has 4 electoral votes in 2028, and at the current pace of population change it would lose one electoral vote after the 2030 census. Since 1960 it has voted Democratic 15 times and Republican twice. It has backed the national winner in 10 of 17 elections. Kamala Harris carried it in 2024 by 13.8 points, 15.3 points more Democratic than the nation. In 2024, 63.3% of its eligible voters cast a ballot, ranking 34th among the 50 states and DC (nationally, 64.3%). It has voted Democratic in every election since 1988. Its closest result was in 1984, when Ronald Reagan won it by 3.7 points.

  1. 1960Kennedy+27.3
  2. 1964Johnson+61.7
  3. 1968Humphrey+32.3
  4. 1972Nixon+6.2
  5. 1976Carter+11.3
  6. 1980Carter+10.5
  7. 1984Reagan+3.7
  8. 1988Dukakis+11.7
  9. 1992Clinton+18.0
  10. 1996Clinton+32.9
  11. 2000Gore+29.1
  12. 2004Kerry+20.8
  13. 2008Obama+27.8
  14. 2012Obama+27.5
  15. 2016Clinton+15.5
  16. 2020Biden+20.8
  17. 2024Harris+13.8

Each box is one election: the winner in Rhode Island and the margin in points. Darker boxes were won by 10 points or more, lighter by under 5.

Election night

8 p.m. ET

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Also closing at 8 p.m. ET: AL, CT, DE, DC, IL, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MS, MO, NH, NJ, ND, OK, PA, SD, TN, TX.

Times from the 2024 general election; states rarely change them, and they will be confirmed for 2028.

2028 ratings

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In Congress

Senate

House: 2 Democrats

All 2 members
  1. 1 Gabe Amo (D)
  2. 2 Seth Magaziner (D)

From Congress.gov, as of Oct. 19, 2026. Vacant seats are not listed.

Margin by election

Rhode Island margin by electionBars show the Democratic or Republican margin in Rhode Island in each election since 1960; the line shows the national popular-vote margin. The table below has every figure.R+70R+50R+30R+10D+10D+30D+50D+701960: D+27.3 (nation D+0.2)'601964: D+61.7 (nation D+22.6)'641968: D+32.3 (nation R+0.7)'681972: R+6.2 (nation R+23.2)'721976: D+11.3 (nation D+2.1)'761980: D+10.5 (nation R+9.7)'801984: R+3.7 (nation R+18.2)'841988: D+11.7 (nation R+7.7)'881992: D+18.0 (nation D+5.6)'921996: D+32.9 (nation D+8.5)'962000: D+29.1 (nation D+0.5)'002004: D+20.8 (nation R+2.5)'042008: D+27.8 (nation D+7.3)'082012: D+27.5 (nation D+3.9)'122016: D+15.5 (nation D+2.1)'162020: D+20.8 (nation D+4.5)'202024: D+13.8 (nation R+1.5)'24

Rhode Island margin National popular vote

By county

Kamala Harris won 5 of Rhode Island's 5 counties in 2024; Donald Trump won 0.

Loading the county map…

Largest counties, 2024

CountyVotesMarginShift from 2020
Providence County269,679D+14.0→R 8.9
Kent County93,148D+1.9→R 5.8
Washington County76,036D+14.9→R 4.5
Newport County44,618D+25.3→R 4.5
Bristol County28,335D+26.2→R 3.1

Biggest shifts from 2020 to 2024: toward the Republican, Providence County (8.9), Kent County (5.8), Washington County (4.5); toward the Democrat, Bristol County (3.1), Newport County (4.5), Washington County (4.5) — in points of margin.

County returns from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (official state data), 2000–2024. Margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's, of all votes cast.

Results by year

YearWinnerDemocratRepublicanOtherMarginNationTurnoutEV
2024 Kamala HarrisHarris lostHarris 55.5%285,156Trump 41.8%214,4062.7%D+13.8R+1.563.3%4
2020 Joe BidenBidenBiden 59.4%307,486Trump 38.6%199,9222.0%D+20.8D+4.563.1%4
2016 Hillary ClintonClinton lostClinton 54.4%252,525Trump 38.9%180,5436.7%D+15.5D+2.159.8%4
2012 Barack ObamaObamaObama 62.7%279,677Romney 35.2%157,2042.1%D+27.5D+3.958.5%4
2008 Barack ObamaObamaObama 62.9%296,571McCain 35.1%165,3912.1%D+27.8D+7.362.2%4
2004 John KerryKerry lostKerry 59.4%259,760Bush 38.7%169,0461.9%D+20.8R+2.558.9%4
2000 Al GoreGore lostGore 61.0%249,508Bush 31.9%130,555Nader 6.1%D+29.1D+0.556.1%4
1996 Bill ClintonClintonClinton 59.7%233,050Dole 26.8%104,683Perot 11.2%D+32.9D+8.554.4%4
1992 Bill ClintonClintonClinton 47.1%213,299Bush 29.0%131,601Perot 23.2%D+18.0D+5.662.9%4
1988 Michael DukakisDukakis lostDukakis 55.6%225,123Bush 43.9%177,7610.4%D+11.7R+7.757.6%4
1984 Ronald ReaganReaganMondale 48.0%197,106Reagan 51.7%212,0800.3%R+3.7R+18.260.6%4
1980 Jimmy CarterCarter lostCarter 47.7%198,342Reagan 37.2%154,793Anderson 14.4%D+10.5R+9.762.7%4
1976 Jimmy CarterCarterCarter 55.4%227,636Ford 44.1%181,2490.4%D+11.3D+2.1—4
1972 Richard NixonNixonMcGovern 46.8%Nixon 53.0%0.2%R+6.2R+23.2—4
1968 Hubert HumphreyHumphrey lostHumphrey 64.0%Nixon 31.8%4.2%D+32.3R+0.7—4
1964 Lyndon B. JohnsonJohnsonJohnson 80.9%Goldwater 19.1%0.0%D+61.7D+22.6—4
1960 John F. KennedyKennedyKennedy 63.6%Nixon 36.4%0.0%D+27.3D+0.2—4

Margin is the Democrat's share minus the Republican's, in percentage points; Nation is the same for the national popular vote. "Other" is everyone else combined, or the leading third-party candidate where one took 5% or more. Vote counts from 1976. Turnout is ballots cast as a share of eligible voters, from 1980 (UF Election Lab; the newest year is preliminary).

Electoral votes

Electoral votes change after each census, when House seats are reapportioned.

  • 419601950 census
  • 41964–19681960 census
  • 41972–19801970 census
  • 41984–19881980 census
  • 41992–20001990 census
  • 42004–20082000 census
  • 42012–20202010 census
  • 42024–20282020 census
  • 32032–2040projected

Projected: Rhode Island's share of House seats after the 2030 census if each state's population keeps changing at its pace since 2020, from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey population estimates (July 1, 2024). If the count were taken today it would have 4. An estimate, not a forecast.

Before 1960

Rhode Island cast electoral votes in 42 presidential elections before 1960, the first in 1792. It backed the eventual president in 31 of them.

YearCarried byElectorsMarginBacked winner
1956Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican4+16.5✓
1952Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican4+1.8✓
1948Harry S. Truman Democratic4+16.6✓
1944Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic4+17.4✓
1940Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic4+13.4✓
1936Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic4+13.9✓
1932Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic4+12.0✓
1928Al Smith Democratic5+0.6–
1924Calvin Coolidge Republican5+23.2✓
1920Warren G. Harding Republican5+32.2✓
1916Charles Evans Hughes Republican5+5.2–
1912Woodrow Wilson Democratic5+3.5✓
1908William Howard Taft Republican4+28.0✓
1904Theodore Roosevelt Republican4+25.2✓
1900William McKinley Republican4+26.1✓
1896William McKinley Republican4+44.3✓
1892Benjamin Harrison Republican4+5.1–
1888Benjamin Harrison Republican4+11.2✓
1884James G. Blaine Republican4+21.1–
1880James A. Garfield Republican4+25.6✓
1876Rutherford B. Hayes Republican4+19.2✓
1872Ulysses S. Grant Republican4+43.9✓
1868Ulysses S. Grant Republican4+33.4✓
1864Abraham Lincoln Republican4+24.4✓
1860Abraham Lincoln Republican4+22.7✓
1856John C. Frémont Republican4+24.2–
1852Franklin Pierce Democratic4+6.8✓
1848Zachary Taylor Whig4+28.0✓
1844Henry Clay Whig4+20.1–
1840William Henry Harrison Whig4+23.0✓
1836Martin Van Buren Democratic4+4.4✓
1832Henry Clay National Republican4+14.3–
1828John Quincy Adams National Republican4+54.1–
1824John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican4Unopposed✓
1820James Monroe Democratic-Republican4—✓
1816James Monroe Democratic-Republican4—✓
1812DeWitt Clinton Democratic-Republican4—–
1808Charles C. Pinckney Federalist4—–
1804Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican4—✓
1800John Adams FederalistVotes (two per elector): Adams 4, Pinckney 3, Jay 14—–
1796John Adams FederalistVotes (two per elector): Adams 4, Ellsworth 44—✓
1792George WashingtonVotes (two per elector): Washington 4, Adams 44—✓

Margin: the winner's lead over the runner-up in the state's popular vote, in points. A dash means the legislature chose the electors (common before the 1830s) or no popular vote is on record. Each year links to that election's map and full results.