Rhode Island House of Representatives elections, 2026

2026 Rhode Island House Elections
Primary	Pending
General	November 3, 2026

2026 Elections
Choose a chamber below:

Elections for the Rhode Island House of Representatives will take place in 2026. The general election is on November 3, 2026.

The Rhode Island House of Representatives is one of 88 state legislative chambers with elections in 2026. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.

Party control

See also: Partisan composition of state houses and State government trifectas

Party	As of March 2025
	Democratic Party	64
	Republican Party	10
	Other	1
	Vacancies	0
Total	75

Candidates

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

This list will be updated after the candidate filing deadline has passed and the official list of candidates becomes available. Please contact us if you notice an official candidate missing from the list or the inclusion of a candidate who withdrew.

Primary

General election

Voting information

See also: Voting in Rhode Island

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Competitiveness

This section will be updated with information about the competitiveness of state legislative elections in Rhode Island. For more information about Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.

Process to become a candidate

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Rhode Island

See statutes: Rhode Island General Laws, Title 17, Chapter 14

In Rhode Island, all candidates must adhere to the same filing procedure, regardless of partisan affiliation. First, a candidate must file a declaration of candidacy. A candidate for statewide or federal office must submit this form to the Rhode Island Secretary of State. A candidate for the state legislature must file the declaration with the local board of canvassers in the city or town where he or she is registered to vote. Declarations of candidacy may be filed during the last consecutive Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in June of the election year.^[1][2]

A party candidate uses the declaration of candidacy to declare partisan affiliation, as well. If a candidate belongs to a party but wishes to run under a different party label, he or she must disaffiliate from the original party 90 days prior to filing the declaration of candidacy. Party-affiliated candidates may choose to run as independent candidates. Likewise, unaffiliated candidates may file as party candidates. Once they do, they automatically become members of the party.^[1][3]

In Rhode Island, political party officials may designate candidates to represent their parties in primaries and general elections. Such designations are called endorsements. A party's state committee is responsible for making endorsements for federal and statewide candidates; senatorial and representative district committees make endorsements for state legislative candidates. A majority of the committee's members must sign an endorsement form in order to endorse a particular candidate. Endorsements by district committees must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the day after the last day of the filing period. Endorsements by the state committee must be made by 4:00 p.m. on the second day after the final day of the filing period.^[1][4][5]

Regardless of endorsement status, a candidate for federal, statewide, or state legislative office must collect signatures on nomination papers, which are issued after the candidate submits his or her declaration of candidacy. Signature requirements are the same for political party candidates as they are for unaffiliated candidates. Nomination papers become available within two business days of the final date for filing endorsements. Signature requirements are summarized in the table below.^[1][6][7]

Nomination paper signature requirements
Office	Signatures required
Governor, United States Senator	1,000
United States Representative, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, secretary of state	500
State senator	100
State representative	50

Each sheet of a nomination paper can include only signatures from voters residing in the same city or town. Papers are due to the appropriate local board of canvassers by 4:00 p.m. on the 60th day preceding the primary.^[1][8]

Write-in candidates

Write-in candidates do not need to file special paperwork in order to have their votes tabulated. However, write-in candidates engaged in campaign activities may be required to comply with the state's campaign finance laws.^[9][10]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Article III of the Rhode Island Constitution describes the requirements to hold office.

Salaries and per diem

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024[11]
Salary	Per diem
$19,037/year	No per diem is paid.

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Rhode Island legislators assume office the first Tuesday in January.^[12]

Rhode Island political history

Trifectas

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

Rhode Island Party Control: 1992-2025
Sixteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Presidential politics in Rhode Island

2024

See also: Presidential election, 2024

2020

See also: Presidential election, 2020

2016

See also: Presidential election, 2016

Rhode Island presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 22 Democratic wins
• 10 Republican wins

Redistricting following the 2020 census

Rhode Island enacted new legislative district boundaries on February 16, 2022, when Gov. Dan McKee (D) signed redistricting legislation approved by the General Assembly. The State House of Representatives passed the new maps by a vote of 57-6 and the State Senate approved them, 29-9, on February 15, 2022. In a press release issued after Gov. McKee signed the legislation, State Representative Robert Phillips (D), co-chair of the state's legislative Reapportionment Commission, said, "It was an honor and pleasure to work with such a dedicated group of individuals on this commission. I’m particularly proud of the fact that we obtained so much input from citizens around the state, holding our meetings in several cities and towns to make it more accessible to everyone. Reapportionment can be daunting and complex, but I’m glad we took everyone’s concerns into account and came up with a fair and equitable system of reapportionment.”^{[13][14][15][16]}

See also

Rhode Island	State Legislative Elections	News and Analysis
Rhode Island State Executive Offices Rhode Island State Legislature Rhode Island Courts	2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 Rhode Island elections: 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015	Party control of state government State government trifectas Partisan composition of state legislatures Partisan composition of state senates Partisan composition of state houses

External links

• Rhode Island House of Representatives

Footnotes