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Rhode
Island Senate
RHODE
ISLAND |
Nov. 3,
2020
Senate
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Plurality: 163,719 votes (33.12 percentage points). RI Board of Elections
Notes: Given Sen. Jack Reed (D)'s lengthy career in public service and Democrats' huge registration advantage in Rhode Island this seat was universally seen as solid Democrat. The outcome was no surprise; Reed won a fifth term, defeating financial consultant Allen Waters (R) by an almost 2:1 margin. Reed, 70, served in the Rhode Island State Senate from 1985-1990 followed by three terms in the U.S. House; he was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. Waters, a black Republican, grew up in Providence, studied business administration at University of Rhode Island and lived in the Ocean State until 2003. He had been living in Massachusetts since 2005. In July 2019 launched a run for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts as a moderate Blue Dog Democrat, challenging Sen. Ed Markey. In Dec. 2019 he switched to run for U.S. Senate in Rhode Island, moving to the family home in Providence. On June 8 the Rhode Island Republican Party State Central Committee voted to endorse Waters, but on June 25 the party's Executive Committee voted to pull the endorsement after reports he had been involved in a domestic dispute in 2019. Waters continued his campaign "without the endorsement or support of the Rhode Island Republican Party." Reed and Waters were unopposed in the September 8 primaries. There were no debates. The race was extremely lopsided financially. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Reed campaign spent $4.0 million for the cycle and finished with $2.0 million in cash on hand, while the Waters campaign reported spending less than $25,000 (>). Campaign Managers: Jack Reed: Erin Arcand Community affairs coordinator to Sen. Reed from Aug. 2015. Cause related marketing officer for Hasbro Children's Hospital, Feb.-July 2015. Campaign assistant/consultant for Care New England, Mar. 2012-Jan. 2015. Field organizer in Providence for the National Consumers League, Mar. 2011-Dec. 2014. B.A. in American history, political science from Brown University, 2005. Rhode Island native. Allen Waters: ? |
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