Elections in Rhode Island

Since the Great Depression, Rhode Island politics have been dominated by the Rhode Island Democratic Party. However, the Rhode Island Republican Party, although virtually non-existent in the Rhode Island General Assembly, occasionally puts forward occasional statewide reform candidates. Former Governor Donald Carcieri of East Greenwich, and former Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci of Providence (who later became an independent political boss, and was convicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges) ran successfully as Republican reform candidates.

Rhode Island has comprehensive health insurance for low-income children, and a large social safety net. Many urban areas still have a high rate of children in poverty. Due to an influx of residents from Boston, Massachusetts, increasing housing costs have resulted in more homeless in Rhode Island.

Ranking Democrats include Governor Gina Raimondo, House Speaker William Murphy, Senate President Joseph Montalbano, U.S. Representative David Cicilline, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio, Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva-Weed, and former Lt. Gov. Elizabeth H. Roberts. In 2008, former Speaker of the House John Harwood, State Senator John Celona, and State Senate President William Irons resigned amid scandals.

Rhode Island declared independence from the British Empire on May 4, 1776, two months before the U.S. Declaration of Independence was ratified. However, despite this eagerness for independence, Rhode Island was also a stronghold for Anti-Federalism through the Country Party, which was widely popular among rural areas of Rhode Island and dominated the Rhode Island General Assembly from 1786 to 1790. The Country Party's dominance prevented ratification of the Federalist U.S. Constitution, and the state had even refused to send any delegation to the 1787 Constitutional Convention that wrote it. Father of the Constitution James Madison described Rhode Island as ruled by "wickedness and folly" in which "All sense of character as well as of right have been obliterated." After the insurance of the inclusion of a bill of rights, however, support grew for the Constitution in Rhode Island. Rhode Island became the last of the original 13 states to ratify the Constitution in 1790 by only 2 votes, after Gov. John Collins supported it and several remaining Anti-Federalists boycotted the ratifying convention.

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