Number of elections | 58 |
---|---|
Voted Democratic | 24 |
Voted Republican | 20 |
Voted Whig | 4 |
Voted Democratic-Republican | 5 |
Voted Federalist | 4 |
Voted other | 1[a] |
Voted for winning candidate | 40 |
Voted for losing candidate | 18 |
Following is a table of United States presidential elections in Rhode Island, ordered by year. Since its admission to statehood in 1790, Rhode Island has participated in every U.S. presidential election.
Winners of the state are in bold. The shading refers to the state winner, and not the national winner.
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Transcription
Lawn signs sprouting everywhere. Round-the-clock ads on radio and television. The phone rings. It's a robo-call from the president, or his opponent, asking for your money, and your vote. And while you're at it, watch their YouTube videos and like them on Facebook. Election time. We all know the look and feel of modern campaigns. But what was it like in the early days of the Republic, when, say, George Washington ran for office? Well, in fact, he didn't run. When Washington became the first president in 1789, there were no political parties, no conventions or primaries, no campaign, no election season. Not really any candidates. Even the year was odd. Literally. 1789 was the only presidential election ever held in an odd year. After the framers invented the constitution and the presidency 225 years ago, the country set about the business of choosing its first executive. Agreeing with Ben Franklin, many people thought "The first man at the helm will be a good one," and by that, Franklin meant George Washington. Greatest hero of the Revolution, Washington presided over the convention that created the constitution, rarely speaking. He never discussed the job of president, or of wanting it. And when the first presidential election took place, it was a crazy-quilt affair, with many hands stitching the pattern. Under the new constitution, each state was given a number of electors. who would cast a vote for two names. The man with the most votes would be president, the second-place finisher was vice president. Ah, but who picked the electors? That was left up to the states. Six of them let the people decide, or at least white men over 21 who owned property. In New Jersey, some women voted, a right later taken away. But in other states, the legislature picked the electors. At that time, many people thought democracy was one step away from mob rule and a decision this important should be left to wiser men. These electors then voted for president. All the states had to do was get their votes in on time. But there were glitches. Only 10 of the 13 states voted. Rhode Island and North Carolina hadn't ratified the constitution and couldn't vote. New York missed the deadline for naming its electors, and also was not counted. When the votes were tallied, it was unanimous. George Washington won easily. John Adams trailed far behind, finishing second, and became the vice president. Told of his victory, George Washington was not surprised. At Mount Vernon, his bags were already packed. He moved to New York City, the nation's temporary capital, and he would have to figure out just what a president was supposed to do. Since that first election, American democracy and elections have come a long way. The constitution has been changed to open up voting to more people: black men, women, Native Americans, and eighteen-year-olds included. Getting that basic right extended to all those people has been a long, hard struggle. So when you think you can't stand any more of those lawn signs, and TV ads, just remember: the right to vote wasn't always for everyone, and that's a piece of history worth knowing.
Elections from 1864 to present
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War.
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1860 | Abraham Lincoln | 12,244 | 61.4 | Stephen A. Douglas | 7,707 | 38.6 | John C. Breckinridge | no ballots | John Bell | no ballots | 4 |
Elections from 1828 to 1856
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Other national candidates[b] |
Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1856 | James Buchanan | 6,680 | 33.70 | John C. Frémont | 11,467 | 57.85 | Millard Fillmore | 1,675 | 8.45 | 4 | |
1852 | Franklin Pierce | 8,735 | 51.37 | Winfield Scott | 7,626 | 44.85 | John P. Hale | 644 | 3.79 | 4 | |
1848 | Zachary Taylor | 6,779 | 60.77 | Lewis Cass | 3,646 | 32.68 | Martin Van Buren | 730 | 6.54 | 4 | |
1844 | James K. Polk | 4,867 | 39.58 | Henry Clay | 7,322 | 59.55 | — | 4 | |||
1840 | William Henry Harrison | 5,278 | 61.22 | Martin Van Buren | 3,301 | 38.29 | — | 4 | |||
1836 | Martin Van Buren | 2,964 | 52.24 | William Henry Harrison | 2,710 | 47.76 | various[e] | 4 | |||
1832 | Andrew Jackson | 2,126 | 43.07 | Henry Clay | 2,810 | 56.93 | William Wirt | no ballots | 4 | ||
1828 | Andrew Jackson | 820 | 22.91 | John Quincy Adams | 2,755 | 76.96 | — | 4 |
Election of 1824
The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become president, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.
Year | Winner (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Runner-up (nationally) | Votes | Percent | Electoral Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1824 | Andrew Jackson | no ballots | John Quincy Adams | 2,145 | 91.47 | Henry Clay | no ballots | William H. Crawford | 200 | 8.53 | 4 |
Elections from 1792 to 1820
In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all 4 of Rhode Island's electoral votes, and all electoral votes nationwide except one vote in New Hampshire. To the extent that a popular vote was held, it was primarily directed to filling the office of Vice President.
Year | Winner (nationally) | Runner-up (nationally) | Electoral Votes |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1820 | James Monroe | — | 4 | Monroe effectively ran unopposed. |
1816 | James Monroe | Rufus King | 4 | |
1812 | James Madison | DeWitt Clinton | 4 | |
1808 | James Madison | Charles C. Pinckney | 4 | |
1804 | Thomas Jefferson | Charles C. Pinckney | 4 | |
1800 | Thomas Jefferson | John Adams | 4 | |
1796 | John Adams | Thomas Jefferson | 4 | |
1792 | George Washington | — | 4 | Washington effectively ran unopposed. |
See also
Notes
- ^ George Washington, 1792.
- ^ a b For purposes of these lists, other national candidates are defined as those who won at least one electoral vote, or won at least ten percent of the vote in multiple states.
- ^ a b c d Won the electoral college while losing the popular vote
- ^ Was allied with a slate of unpledged electors in Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina
- ^ Three other candidates ran and received electoral votes nationally as part of the unsuccessful Whig strategy to defeat Martin Van Buren by running four candidates with local appeal in different regions of the country. The others were Hugh Lawson White, Daniel Webster, and Willie Person Mangum. None of these candidates appeared on the ballot in Rhode Island.
References
- ^ "Presidential Election Results: Biden Wins". The New York Times. 3 November 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
- ^ 2016 official Federal Election Commission report.
- ^ 2012 official Federal Election Commission report.
- ^ 2008 official Federal Election Commission report.
- ^ "Federal Elections 2004: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives" (PDF). Federal Elections Commission. May 2005.
- ^ "2000 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ^ "1996 Presidential Election Statistics". Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved 2018-03-05.