What to expect in Rhode Island's state primaries

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than five months after weighing in on the presidential matchup, Rhode Island voters will choose which candidates will face off in this fall's U.S. Senate election.

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse faces a primary challenge from Mike Costa, a former Republican candidate for governor who lives in Bristol. Costa, now running in the Democratic primary, loaned his campaign $200,000 in personal funds and has booked more than $50,000 on broadcast advertising ahead of the primary. Whitehouse, who is running for a fourth term, has a massive financial advantage. His campaign booked more than $310,000 in broadcast advertising ahead of the primary and has $3.6 million in the bank.

On the Republican side, state Rep. Patricia Morgan is the only Senate candidate who has booked radio and television ads, according to the latest data from AdImpact. She represents West Warwick, Coventry, and Warwick in the state House, and formerly served as minority leader. She lost the Republican nomination for governor in 2018 to Allan Fung, placing second with 40% of the vote. She now faces Warwick resident Ray McKay in the Senate primary.

Meanwhile, there's no primary drama this time around for the state's two Democratic congressmen.

Last year, Democrat Gabe Amo faced nearly a dozen candidates to win his party’s nomination for Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District. When Democratic Rep. David Cicilline resigned in 2023, Amo defeated 11 other Democrats – including the lieutenant governor – in a district that Democrats were highly favored to win in a general election. The crowded field meant that Amo ended up winning only a third of the vote to place first in that primary.

This year, however, it’s smooth sailing for Amo. None of his prior competitors are seeking to replace him as he runs for a full term. The other member of Rhode Island’s House delegation – freshman Democrat Seth Magaziner – won’t face a primary challenge, either.

Elsewhere in Rhode Island, a few cities are holding mayoral elections, while the rest of Tuesday’s primaries are for General Assembly seats.

Here’s what to expect:

Primary day

Rhode Island’s state primaries will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

What’s on the ballot

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, state Senate and state House, as well as mayoral primaries in Cranston, Pawtucket and Woonsocket.

Who gets to vote

Voters registered with a political party may vote only in their own party’s primary. In other words, Democrats can’t vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in any primary. The deadline to change party affiliation was Aug. 11.

Decision notes

In the presidential primary election earlier this year, about 15% of President Joe Biden's votes came from Providence, more than he received in any other county. The areas surrounding Providence — including Cranston and East Providence — are also major vote centers. In the Republican primary, Trump's biggest bases of support came from Cranston and, to its south, Warwick. Officials may begin counting advance ballots prior to Election Day.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

There are no automatic recounts in Rhode Island, but recounts may be requested depending on the vote margin. For contests with more than 100,000 votes cast, a recount may be requested if the vote margin is less than 0.5 percentage points or fewer than 1,500 votes, whichever is less. For races in which between 20,000 and 100,000 votes are cast, the vote margin must be less than 1 percentage point or fewer than 500 votes. If the total number of votes cast is 20,000 or fewer, the margin to request a recount is 2 percentage points or fewer than 200 votes. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of Aug. 1, there were about 775,000 registered voters in Rhode Island. Of those, 38% were Democrats, 14% were Republicans and 47% were independents or not affiliated with any party.

In the April presidential race, turnout was 3% of registered voters in the Democratic primary, and 37% of those voters cast their ballots before Election Day. In the Republican presidential primary, turnout was 2%, and 24% of votes were cast before Election Day.

As of Sept. 5, a total of 15,165 ballots had been cast, about 81% in the Democratic primary and 18% in the Republican primary.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2022 primaries, the AP first reported results at 8:10 p.m. ET, or 10 minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 11:03 p.m. ET with about 97% of total votes counted.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 56 days until the November general election.