| Election Name: | 2010 Rhode Island gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Rhode Island |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2006 Rhode Island gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2006 |
| Election Date: | November 2, 2010 |
| Next Election: | 2014 Rhode Island gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
| Image1: | File:Lincoln Chafee official portrait (cropped 2).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Lincoln Chafee |
| Party1: | Independent (United States) |
| Popular Vote1: | 123,571 |
| Percentage1: | 36.1% |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Donald Carcieri |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
| After Election: | Lincoln Chafee |
| After Party: | Independent (politician) |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote2: | 114,911 |
| Percentage2: | 33.6% |
| Image4: | File:Frank Caprio (cropped).JPG |
| Nominee4: | Frank Caprio |
| Party4: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Popular Vote4: | 78,896 |
| Percentage4: | 23.1% |
| Nominee5: | Ken Block |
| Party5: | Moderate Party of Rhode Island |
| Popular Vote5: | 22,146 |
| Percentage5: | 6.5% |
The 2010 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2010. It was preceded by the primary election on September 14, 2010. Incumbent Republican Governor Donald Carcieri was term-limited in 2010. The non-partisan Cook Political Report, The New York Times and CQ Politics rated the gubernatorial election as a toss-up.[1] [2] [3]
With 90 percent of the districts reporting on election night, Independent Lincoln Chafee was declared the winner, with 36.1% of the vote.[4], this was the last time Newport County voted for the Republican candidate in a statewide election. Chafee had served Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1999 to 2007; he later joined the Democratic Party in 2013. [5]
The campaign drew nationwide attention in late October when President Barack Obama, faced with a choice between Democrat Caprio and independent Chafee (who, although he had been a Republican as a senator, had endorsed the Democratic Obama for president in 2008) chose not to make any endorsement in the race. Caprio responded to the lack of an endorsement by his fellow Democrat by stating that the President "can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I'm concerned."[9]
| Source | Ranking | As of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Political Report[10] | October 14, 2010 | ||
| Rothenberg[11] | October 28, 2010 | ||
| RealClearPolitics[12] | November 1, 2010 | ||
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[13] | October 28, 2010 | ||
| CQ Politics[14] | October 28, 2010 |
| Poll source | Dates administered | Independent | Democratic nominee | Republican nominee | Moderate nominee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Chafee | Frank Caprio | John Robitaille | Ken Block | ||||||
| WJAR Channel 10 | October 23–26, 2010 | 35% | 25% | 28% | 2% | ||||
| Rasmussen Reports | October 21, 2010 | 35% | 28% | 25% | — | ||||
| WJAR Channel 10 | October 4–6, 2010 | 33% | 37% | 22% | 2% | ||||
| Rasmussen Reports | October 6, 2010 | 33% | 30% | 22% | 4% | ||||
| Brown University | September 27–29, 2010 | 23% | 30% | 14% | 2% | ||||
| WPRI-TV | September 22–26, 2010 | 30% | 33% | 19% | 4% | ||||
| Rasmussen Reports | September 16, 2010 | 33% | 30% | 23% | 5% | ||||
| Quest Research | September 15–17, 2010 | 24% | 36% | 13% | 2% | ||||
| Rasmussen Reports | August 17, 2010 | 32% | 38% | 20% | — | ||||
| Brown University | July 27–30, 2010 | 26% | 28% | 7% | 3% | ||||
| Rasmussen Reports | July 21, 2010 | 37% | 30% | 23% | — | ||||
| Rasmussen Reports | June 1, 2010 | 35% | 32% | 25% | |||||
| Rasmussen Reports | April 21, 2010 | 33% | 34% | 21% | |||||
| Rasmussen Reports | February 25, 2010 | 37% | 27% | 19% | |||||
| Brown University | February 9–12, 2010 | 34% | 28% | 12% |
| align=center colspan=2 | Lincoln Chafee Independent | align=center colspan=2 | John Robitaille Republican | align=center colspan=2 | Frank Caprio Democratic | align=center colspan=2 | Kenneth Block Moderate | align=center colspan=2 | Others | align=center rowspan=2 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | County | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Bristol | 7,323 | 37.04% | 6,796 | 34.37% | 3,950 | 19.98% | 1,547 | 7.82% | 155 | 0.78% | 19,771 | |
| Kent | 22,563 | 35.62% | 23,303 | 36.79% | 12,199 | 19.26% | 4,745 | 7.49% | 533 | 0.85% | 63,343 | |
| Newport | 11,313 | 37.55% | 11,885 | 39.45% | 5,165 | 17.15% | 1,497 | 4.97% | 264 | 0.88% | 30,124 | |
| Providence | 62,608 | 34.90% | 55,258 | 30.80% | 49,266 | 27.46% | 10,837 | 6.04% | 1,417 | 0.79% | 179,386 | |
| Washington | 19,734 | 39.80% | 17,637 | 35.57% | 8,192 | 16.73% | 3,518 | 7.10% | 396 | 0.80% | 49,577 |