United States Senate elections in Rhode Island, 2014
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Jack Reed Incumbent |
70.6% | 223,675 | |
| Republican | Mark Zaccaria | 29.2% | 92,684 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.2% | 539 | |
| Total Votes | 316,898 | |||
| Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections | ||||
 |
November 4, 2014 |
September 9, 2014 |
Jack Reed |
Jack Reed |
 |
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe D[2] |
 |
Voters in Rhode Island elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014. Sen. Jack Reed won re-election. He defeated Republican Mark Zaccaria.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election.
Rhode Island utilizes a semi-closed primary system. Unaffiliated voters may vote in a party's primary without affiliating with that party. Voters that are affiliated with a party at the time of the primary election may only vote in that party's primary.[3][4][5]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by August 10, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 5, 2014 (30 days prior to the election).[6]
- See also: Rhode Island elections, 2014
Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Jack Reed (D). Reed was first elected in 1996.
Candidates
General election candidates
Jack Reed - Incumbent
[7]
Mark Zaccaria[7]
Withdrew from race
Declined to run
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jack Reed Incumbent |
70.6% | 223,675 | |
| Republican | Mark Zaccaria | 29.2% | 92,684 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0.2% | 539 | |
| Total Votes | 316,898 | |||
| Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections | ||||
Race background
"Least vulnerable senator"
Democratic incumbent Jack Reed was first elected to the Senate in 1996, and he won re-election in 2002 and 2008.[9] No Republican has been elected to Reed’s Senate seat since 1930, and he was considered to be safe for re-election in 2014.
A Public Policy Poll released February 1, 2013, showed Reed in excellent standing for re-election in 2014. In addition to high job performance approval ratings, respondents said they would vote for Reed over all five potential Republican challengers included in the survey, with Reed winning by a minimum of 29 points against Brendan Doherty, and a maximum of 65 points against Curt Schilling.
The results prompted Dean Debna, the President of Public Policy Polling, to say that, "Jack Reed may very well be the least vulnerable Senator in the country up for re-election next year."[9]
Challenge
Mark Zaccaria, who ran unsuccessfully for Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District twice, said he knew that it will be difficult to unseat the well-funded, popular Sen. Jack Reed. He added, “I don’t think my campaign is going to be remarkably different. I’m not a different person. I think the message is going to hit more fertile ground this time than it did in the past.”[10][11]
Key votes
Below are important votes that Reed cast during the 113th Congress.
Government shutdown
- See also: United States budget debate, 2013
Endorsements
Jack Reed
Mark Zaccaria
- Mark Zaccaria was endorsed by the Republican Party of Rhode Island on June 26, 2014, at the Republican Endorsement Convention.[15]
Polls
| General Election | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Jack Reed | Mark Zaccaria | Undecided | Margin of Error | Sample Size | ||||||||||||||
| YouGov September 20 - October 1, 2014 | 64% | 22% | 14% | +/-4 | 724 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: A "0%" finding means the candidate was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign contributions
| Candidate ballot access |
|---|
 |
| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
Jack Reed
Candidates for Congress were required to file reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2014 elections season. Below are Reed's reports.[16]
| Jack Reed (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | April 15, 2013 | $1,859,833 | $248,715 | $(56,579) | $2,051,969 | ||||
| July Quarterly[18] | July 15, 2013 | $2,051,969 | $704,411 | $(189,677) | $2,566,703 | ||||
| October Quarterly[19] | October 13, 2013 | $2,566,703.35 | $426,637.64 | $(150,119.23) | $2,843,221.76 | ||||
| Year-End[20] | January 18, 2014 | $2,843,221 | $479,693 | $(164,330) | $3,158,585 | ||||
| April Quarterly[21] | April 11, 2014 | $3,158,585.57 | $411,023.97 | $(161,751.74) | $3,407,857.80 | ||||
| July Quarterly[22] | July 21, 2014 | $3,407,857.80 | $411,407.29 | $(215,576.96) | $3,603,688.13 | ||||
| October Quarterly[23] | October 10, 2014 | $3,623,986.84 | $262,536.45 | $(799,884.26) | $3,086,639.03 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $2,944,424.35 | $(1,737,918.19) | ||||||||
Election history
2012
Whitehouse won re-election in 2012. He defeated B. Barrett Hinckley, III (R) and various write-in challengers in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sheldon Whitehouse Incumbent |
64.8% | 271,034 | |
| Republican | B. Barrett Hinckley, III | 35% | 146,222 | |
| Write-in | N/A | 0.2% | 933 | |
| Total Votes | 418,189 | |||
| Source: Rhode Island Board of Elections "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Jack Reed won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Robert G. Tingle (R) in the general election.[24]
| U.S. Senate, Rhode Island General Election, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democrat | Jack Reed incumbent |
73.4% | 320,644 | |
| Republican | Robert G. Tingle | 26.6% | 116,174 | |
| Total Votes | 436,818 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Rhode Island, 2014
- United States Senate elections, 2014
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 Senate RACE RATINGS FOR August 15, 2014," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 Senate Races," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed July 22, 2024
- ↑ Bill Track 50, "RI H7662," accessed July 21, 2024
- ↑ State of Rhode Island General Assembly, "R.I. Gen. Laws § 17–9.1-23 ," accessed July 22, 2024
- ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State Website, "Register to Vote," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates for Senator in Congress," accessed June 25, 2014
- ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Candidates for Senator in Congress," accessed July 18, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Public Policy Polling, "Senator Reed with Large Lead Over Republicans," February 1, 2013
- ↑ Politifact, "Mark S. Zaccaria's file," accessed July8, 2014
- ↑ Providence Journal, "Former R.I. GOP chair Mark Zaccaria launches U.S. Senate campaign," July 7, 2014
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ Senate.gov, "H.R. 2775 As Amended," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Providence Journal, "R.I. Democrats endorse Frank Caprio for treasurer, slate of incumbents," June 22, 2014
- ↑ WPRI.com, "RI Republicans endorse Fung for gov over Block," accessed June 27, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Jack Reed 2014 Summary reports," accessed October 29, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed October 29, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Reed Year-End," accessed February 14, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "April Quarterly," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "July Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "October Quarterly," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
