2010 Rhode Island gubernatorial election
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The 2010 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held in the US state on November 2, 2010. It was preceded by the primary election on September 14, 2010. Incumbent Republican governor Donald Carcieri was term-limited in 2010. The non-partisan Cook Political Report, The New York Times and CQ Politics rated the gubernatorial election as a toss-up.[1][2][3]
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November 2, 2010
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Chafee: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% Robitaille: 30–40% 40–50% Caprio: 30–40% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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With 90 percent of the districts reporting on election night, Independent Lincoln Chafee was declared the winner, with 36.1% of the vote.[4] As of 2025[update], this was the last time Newport County voted for the Republican candidate in a statewide election. Chafee had served Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1999 to 2007; he later joined the Democratic Party in 2013.[5]
Democratic primary
Candidates
Polling (D)
| Poll source | Dates administered | Frank Caprio | Patrick C. Lynch | David Cicilline | Elizabeth H. Roberts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quest Research[7] | February 24–25, 2009 | 30% | 17.4% | 13% | 12.4% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Frank Caprio | 73,142 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 73,142 | 100.00 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
- Victor Moffitt, former state representative
- John Robitaille, businessman
Polling (R)
| Poll source | Dates administered | Steve Laffey | Joseph Trillo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quest Research[7] | February 24–25, 2009 | 29.3% | 6.9% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Robitaille | 13,204 | 70.17 | |
| Republican | Victor Moffitt | 5,613 | 29.83 | |
| Total votes | 18,817 | 100.00 | ||
General election
Candidates
Major
- Frank Caprio (D)
- Lincoln Chafee (I)
- John Robitaille (R)
Minor
Campaign
The campaign drew nationwide attention in late October when President Barack Obama, faced with a choice between Democrat Caprio and independent Chafee (who, although he had been a Republican as a senator, had endorsed the Democratic Obama for president in 2008) chose not to make any endorsement in the race. Caprio responded to the lack of an endorsement by his fellow Democrat by stating that the President "can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I'm concerned."[11]
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[12] | Tossup | October 14, 2010 |
| Rothenberg[13] | Lean I (flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| RealClearPolitics[14] | Tossup | November 1, 2010 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] | Lean I (flip) | October 28, 2010 |
| CQ Politics[16] | Tossup | October 28, 2010 |
Polling
| Poll source | Dates administered | Lincoln Chafee (I) | Frank Caprio (D) | John Robitaille (R) | Ken Block (M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WJAR Channel 10[17] | October 23–26, 2010 | 35% | 25% | 28% | 2% |
| Rasmussen Reports[18] | October 21, 2010 | 35% | 28% | 25% | — |
| WJAR Channel 10[19] | October 4–6, 2010 | 33% | 37% | 22% | 2% |
| Rasmussen Reports[18] | October 6, 2010 | 33% | 30% | 22% | 4% |
| Brown University[20] | September 27–29, 2010 | 23% | 30% | 14% | 2% |
| WPRI-TV[21] | September 22–26, 2010 | 30% | 33% | 19% | 4% |
| Rasmussen Reports[22] | September 16, 2010 | 33% | 30% | 23% | 5% |
| Quest Research[23] | September 15–17, 2010 | 24% | 36% | 13% | 2% |
| Rasmussen Reports[24] | August 17, 2010 | 32% | 38% | 20% | — |
| Brown University[25] | July 27–30, 2010 | 26% | 28% | 7% | 3% |
| Rasmussen Reports[26] | July 21, 2010 | 37% | 30% | 23% | — |
| Rasmussen Reports[27] | June 1, 2010 | 35% | 32% | 25% | |
| Rasmussen Reports[28] | April 21, 2010 | 33% | 34% | 21% | |
| Rasmussen Reports[29] | February 25, 2010 | 37% | 27% | 19% | |
| Brown University[30] | February 9–12, 2010 | 34% | 28% | 12% |
Results
|
Independent
Gain from Democratic/Republican |
Republican
Hold
|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Lincoln Chafee | 123,571 | 36.10% | N/A | |
| Republican | John Robitaille | 114,911 | 33.57% | −17.44% | |
| Democratic | Frank Caprio | 78,896 | 23.05% | −25.94% | |
| Moderate | Ken Block | 22,146 | 6.47% | ||
| Independent | Joeseph Lusi | 1,091 | 0.32% | ||
| Independent | Todd Giroux | 882 | 0.26% | ||
| Independent | Ronald Algieri | 793 | 0.23% | ||
| Plurality | 8,660 | 2.53% | +0.51% | ||
| Turnout | 342,290 | ||||
| Independent gain from Republican | Swing | ||||
By county
| Lincoln Chafee Independent |
John Robitaille Republican |
Frank Caprio Democratic |
Kenneth Block Moderate |
Others | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Bristol | 7,323 | 37.04% | 6,796 | 34.37% | 3,950 | 19.98% | 1,547 | 7.82% | 155 | 0.78% | 19,771 |
| Kent | 22,563 | 35.62% | 23,303 | 36.79% | 12,199 | 19.26% | 4,745 | 7.49% | 533 | 0.85% | 63,343 |
| Newport | 11,313 | 37.55% | 11,885 | 39.45% | 5,165 | 17.15% | 1,497 | 4.97% | 264 | 0.88% | 30,124 |
| Providence | 62,608 | 34.90% | 55,258 | 30.80% | 49,266 | 27.46% | 10,837 | 6.04% | 1,417 | 0.79% | 179,386 |
| Washington | 19,734 | 39.80% | 17,637 | 35.57% | 8,192 | 16.73% | 3,518 | 7.10% | 396 | 0.80% | 49,577 |
- Counties that flipped from Republican to Independent
- Bristol (largest municipality: Bristol)
- Washington (largest municipality: South Kingstown)
- Counties that flipped from Democratic to Independent
- Providence (largest municipality: Providence)