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.

With 90 percent of the districts reporting on election night, independent Lincoln Chafee was declared the winner, with 36.1 percent of the vote. , 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.

Republican primary Candidates Victor Moffitt, former state representative John Robitaille, businessman

Polling Poll source Dates administered Steve Laffey Joseph TrilloQuest Research February 24–25, 2009 29.3% 6.9%

Results

Democratic primary Candidates Frank Caprio, State Treasurer

Polling Poll source Dates administered Frank Caprio Patrick C. Lynch David Cicilline Elizabeth H. RobertsQuest ResearchQuest Research February 24–25, 2009 30% 17.4% 13% 12.4%

Results

General election Candidates Major Frank Caprio (D) Lincoln Chafee (I) John Robitaille (R)

Minor Ronald Algieri (I) Ken Block (M) Todd Giroux (I) Joseph Lusi (I)

Campaign The campaign drew nationwide attention in late October when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, faced with a choice between Democrat Caprio and independent Chafee (who, although he had been a Republican as a senator, had endorsed 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."

Predictions Source Ranking As of Cook Political Report October 14, 2010 Rothenberg October 28, 2010 RealClearPolitics November 1, 2010 Sabato's Crystal Ball October 28, 2010 CQ Politics October 28, 2010

Polling Poll source Dates administered Lincoln Chafee (I) Frank Caprio (D) John Robitaille (R) Ken Block (M)WJAR Channel 10WJAR Channel 10 October 23–26, 2010 35% 25% 28% 2%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports October 21, 2010 35% 28% 25% —WJAR Channel 10WJAR Channel 10 October 4–6, 2010 33% 37% 22% 2%Rasmussen Reports October 6, 2010 33% 30% 22% 4%Brown UniversityBrown University September 27–29, 2010 23% 30% 14% 2%WPRI-TVWPRI-TV September 22–26, 2010 30% 33% 19% 4%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports September 16, 2010 33% 30% 23% 5%Quest ResearchQuest Research September 15–17, 2010 24% 36% 13% 2%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports August 17, 2010 32% 38% 20% —Brown UniversityBrown University July 27–30, 2010 26% 28% 7% 3%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports July 21, 2010 37% 30% 23% —Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports June 1, 2010 35% 32% 25%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports April 21, 201033% 34% 21%Rasmussen ReportsRasmussen Reports February 25, 2010 37% 27% 19%Brown UniversityBrown University February 9–12, 2010 34% 28% 12%

Results

By county Lincoln ChafeeIndependent John RobitailleRepublican Frank CaprioDemocratic Kenneth BlockModerate Others Total County Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Bristol7,32337.04%6,79634.37%3,95019.98%1,5477.82%1550.78%19,771 Kent22,56335.62%23,30336.79%12,19919.26%4,7457.49%5330.85%63,343 Newport11,31337.55%11,88539.45%5,16517.15%1,4974.97%2640.88%30,124 Providence62,60834.90%55,25830.80%49,26627.46%10,8376.04%1,4170.79%179,386 Washington19,73439.80%17,63735.57%8,19216.73%3,5187.10%3960.80%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)

See also United States gubernatorial elections, 2010

References

External links Rhode Island Board of Elections Rhode Island Governor Candidates at Project Vote Smart Campaign contributions for 2010 RI Governor from Follow the Money Rhode Island Governor 2010 from OurCampaigns.com 2010 Rhode Island Gubernatorial General Election graph of multiple polls from Pollster.com Election 2010: Rhode Island Governor from Rasmussen Reports 2010 Rhode Island Governor Race from Real Clear Politics 2010 Rhode Island Governor's Race from CQ Politics Race Profile in The New York Times Campaign 2010: RI Governor Race coverage by WPRI 2010 Governor's Race coverage by WRNI-FM Debate Rhode Island Gubernatorial Debate on C-SPAN, June 10, 2010 Official campaign sites (Archived) Ken Block for RI Governor Frank Caprio for RI Governor Lincoln Chafee for RI Governor Todd Giroux for RI Governor Joe Lusi for RI Governor John Robitaille for RI Governor