Rhode Island

Rhode Island Voter Guide 2026: Candidates on Your Ballot

All 2026 candidates by state →

Rhode Island's 2026 ballot includes governor (Helena Foulkes (D), Aaron Guckian (R), Elaine Pelino (R), and 1 more); U.S. Senate (Jack Reed (D), Ray McKay (R)); 2 U.S. House districts. Browse tracked Rhode Island jurisdictions, compare candidate profiles, and enter your ZIP code to see the exact races on your ballot.

State Snapshot

Primary ElectionSept. 9, 2026

General ElectionNov. 3, 2026

StateRhode Island

Places Listed5

Profiles15

2026 Statewide & Congressional Races

Candidates The Ballot Brief is tracking for Rhode Island's statewide contests. Tap a name for their bio and campaign link, or enter your address for the full ballot with finance data.

Governor

4 candidates

Helena Foulkes (D)
Helena Foulkes is the Democratic nominee for Rhode Island governor, a lifelong Rhode Islander and former president of CVS's retail division who came close in the 2022 primary. Her campaign theme is competence, courage, and caring, focused on housing affordability, fixing state government's biggest failures like the Washington Bridge, and creating good-paying jobs. Rhode Island's primary is September 9.
Priorities: Make housing and daily life more affordable · Fix state government failures like the Washington Bridge and improve schools · Create good-paying jobs and keep talent in Rhode Island
Campaign site →
Aaron Guckian (R)
Aaron Guckian is a Republican candidate for Rhode Island governor, a trade association executive, former gubernatorial aide, and the party's 2022 nominee for lieutenant governor. Ballot status: the Republican nomination is not yet official.
Priorities: Bring business and executive-branch experience to state government · Offer a Republican alternative for the governor's office · Make Rhode Island more affordable and competitive
Campaign site →
Elaine Pelino (R)
Elaine Pelino is a retired business executive making her first run for public office, per Rhode Island Current's 2026 voter guide. Ballot status: the Republican nomination is not yet official.
Priorities: Curbing state spending and budget growth, per Rhode Island Current's voter guide · Second Amendment rights, per Rhode Island Current's voter guide · Affordability and job growth to retain young Rhode Islanders, per Rhode Island Current's voter guide
Campaign site →
Ken Block (I)
Block is a Rhode Island businessman and data expert who worked at GTECH helping modernize government technology systems, including one of the country's first electronic benefits systems, per the campaign site. He founded and led a software company that managed large-scale government systems across multiple states, per the campaign site. He later developed expertise in election and voting data and authored a 2024 book on his post-2020 election data analysis, per the campaign site.
Priorities: Apply data-driven reform to state government · Cut waste and fraud in public spending · Offer an independent alternative to the two parties

U.S. Senate

2 candidates

Jack Reed (D)Incumbent
Jack Reed is Rhode Island's incumbent U.S. senator and a Democratic candidate for a sixth term in 2026. A West Point graduate and Army veteran who has served in the Senate since 1997, he is the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, and his work centers on national defense, housing, and education.
Priorities: Lead on national defense as the Armed Services Committee's top Democrat · Expand affordable housing and protect Rhode Island's coastline · Defend Social Security, Medicare, and education funding
Campaign site →
Ray McKay (R)
McKay has worked as a network and telecommunications manager and administrator for the City of Warwick for 26 years, per the campaign site. He served 11 years in the U.S. Army, including electronic-maintenance work on the Pershing missile system in West Germany, and later served as president of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly, per the campaign site.
Priorities: Restore constitutional principles and unalienable rights · Apply common-sense solutions to national challenges · Secure freedom, values, and prosperity for Rhode Islanders
Campaign site →

Lieutenant Governor

2 candidates

Sabina Matos (D)Incumbent
Sabina Matos is Rhode Island's incumbent lieutenant governor and the Democratic nominee for a full term. The former Providence City Council president, she was appointed in 2021 and elected in 2022, the first Afro-Latina to hold statewide office in Rhode Island.
Priorities: Advocate for small businesses and community health · Support affordable housing and aging Rhode Islanders · Bring community-rooted leadership to state government
Campaign site →
John Loughlin (R)
John Loughlin is a Republican candidate for Rhode Island lieutenant governor, a former state representative, retired Army lieutenant colonel, and former radio host who was the party's 2010 nominee for Congress.
Priorities: Bring legislative and military experience to the office · Provide a Republican check in state government · Make Rhode Island more affordable
Campaign site →

Secretary Of State

1 candidate

Gregg Amore (D)Incumbent
Gregg Amore is Rhode Island's incumbent secretary of state and a Democratic candidate for re-election in 2026. A former state representative and longtime East Providence teacher and coach, his tenure has emphasized election administration, civic education, and business services.
Priorities: Run secure, accessible elections · Expand civic education across Rhode Island · Modernize business and state records services
Campaign site →

Treasurer

2 candidates

James Diossa (D)Incumbent
James Diossa is Rhode Island's incumbent general treasurer and a Democratic candidate for re-election in 2026. The former mayor of Central Falls who helped lead the city out of bankruptcy, his tenure has focused on pension stability, unclaimed property, and financial literacy. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 11, 2026 (his prior campaign domain no longer resolves); the Department of State's declared candidates report is the only verifiable source for James Diossa's ballot status.
Priorities: Protect Rhode Island's pension system · Return unclaimed property and promote financial literacy · Manage state funds responsibly
Micholas Credle (R)
Micholas A. Credle is a Providence resident who moved to Rhode Island in 2019 after military service and filed his campaign organization in January, per Rhode Island Current; his LinkedIn profile, as cited by Rhode Island Current, lists him as president of a Newport social club. He is a retired Army first lieutenant who deployed to Haiti and served in Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn, moved to Providence in 2019, and has led The Pyramid Club in Newport since October 2025, per The Providence Journal; state Republican delegates endorsed him for treasurer at the party's June convention, per The Boston Globe. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 11, 2026; the Department of State's declared candidates report is the only verifiable source for Micholas Credle.

Attorney General

2 candidates

Kim Ahern (D)
Kim Ahern is the Democratic nominee for Rhode Island attorney general in the open 2026 race, an attorney, former chair of the state Cannabis Control Commission, and former gubernatorial aide.
Priorities: Bring regulatory and legal experience to the office · Protect consumers and enforce Rhode Island law · Continue the office's public-protection work
Campaign site →
Alan Gordon (R)
Alan Leonard Gordon is the certified Republican candidate for Rhode Island attorney general, qualifying by petition with 612 validated signatures, per the Department of State's candidate database; some press coverage has described him as an independent, but the certified record controls. At the race's first public forum he proposed a voluntary payroll withholding to fund domestic violence shelters and said the office must enforce state law regardless of personal views, per Rhode Island Current. He previously ran for the office as the Compassion Party nominee, per What's Up Newp. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 11, 2026; the Department of State's declared candidates report is the only verifiable source for Alan Gordon.

U.S. House - RI-1

2 candidates

Gabe Amo (Democratic)Incumbent
Gabe Amo is the sitting U.S. Representative for this district, first elected in a 2023 special election, per the chamber's current membership roster. He was unopposed for the Democratic nomination and is on the November 3 ballot, per the Department of State's declared candidates report. No 2026 campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 11, 2026 (his existing site, gabeamo.com, carries no 2026 election material and is not linked); the Department of State's declared candidates report is the only verifiable source for Gabe Amo's ballot status.
Kellie Keenan (Republican)
Kellie Keenan of Providence is a public health management consultant and small business owner, per Politics1 and her campaign site. She was unopposed for the Republican nomination and meets Gabe Amo and independent Pedro DeSouza on the November 3 ballot, per the Department of State's declared candidates report.
Priorities: Lowering costs and providing tax relief, per her campaign site · Energy affordability, per her campaign site · Jobs and small business growth, per her campaign site
Campaign site →

U.S. House - RI-2

2 candidates

Seth Magaziner (Democratic)Incumbent
Magaziner previously served as Rhode Island General Treasurer for eight years, where he led the state's school construction initiative to rebuild and modernize public schools and expanded clean energy financing through the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, per the campaign site. He began his career as a public school teacher and is a lifelong Rhode Island resident, per the campaign site.
Priorities: Protecting Social Security and Medicare and lowering prescription drug costs, per the campaign site · Supporting common-sense gun safety legislation, per the campaign site · Fighting for working people's rights, per the campaign site
Campaign site →
Vic Mellor (Republican)
Vic Mellor is a Warwick business owner whose company specializes in concrete fabrication, and a Marine veteran making his first run for elected office, per Rhode Island Current's 2026 voter guide. His campaign site identifies him as founder of the Great American Health Alliance and the We The People Health and Wellness Center; the certified report lists him in the Republican contest though his site brands him as independent.
Priorities: Cutting federal spending and the national debt, including a proposed federal audit, per Rhode Island Current's voter guide · Medical freedom and parental rights over children's health decisions, per Rhode Island Current's voter guide · Expanding Navy shipbuilding and bringing those jobs to Rhode Island, per Rhode Island Current's voter guide
Campaign site →

Statewide Ballot Measures

5 statewide measures are on Rhode Island's 2026 ballot. Tap a measure for the plain-language summary.

Economic and Infrastructure Development Bond Measure
Issue $100 million in bonds to fund infrastructure and economic development projects.
Bond issue (legislative referral)
Full measures guide →
Environment and Watershed Protection and Development Bond Measure
Issue $55 million in bonds to fund environmental preservation and water infrastructure projects.
Bond issue (legislative referral)
Full measures guide →
Higher Education Facilities Bond Measure
Issue $275 million in bonds to fund the construction and improvement of higher education facilities.
Bond issue (legislative referral)
Full measures guide →
Historical Center and Cultural Grants Bond Measure
Issue $50 million in bonds to fund cultural and historical projects.
Bond issue (legislative referral)
Full measures guide →
Housing and Development Bond Measure
Issue $120 million in bonds to fund the construction and development of affordable housing projects.
Bond issue (legislative referral)
Full measures guide →

Places We’re Tracking

Open a local guide to preview candidate profiles by county, city, or jurisdiction. A ZIP code lookup is the fastest way to narrow this to a specific ballot.

Bristol County

8 candidates

8 tracked candidate profiles
7 races covered

Kent County

29 candidates

29 tracked candidate profiles
22 races covered

Newport County

11 candidates

11 tracked candidate profiles
11 races covered

Pawtucket city

4 candidates

4 tracked candidate profiles
3 office types represented

Providence County

92 candidates

92 tracked candidate profiles
72 races covered

Washington County

20 candidates

20 tracked candidate profiles
14 races covered

Every county in Rhode Island

All 5 counties, A to Z. Each page shows the statewide races on every ballot in that county; the 5 marked in bold also carry hand-verified local races.

Bristol County Kent County Newport County Providence County Washington County

How to vote in Rhode Island in November 2026

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Dates below come from the Rhode Island election office as of 2026-09-04; confirm on the official page or check your registration and polling place.

Voter registration deadline: online by Sunday, October 4, 2026; by mail Sunday, October 4, 2026; in person by Sunday, October 4, 2026
Early voting: Wednesday, October 14, 2026 through Monday, November 2, 2026
Mail ballot: request by Tuesday, October 13, 2026; return: Must be received by the RI Board of Elections (2000 Plainfield Pike, Cranston) or an authorized elections drop box no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November...; no excuse needed
Election Day hours: Polling places typically open at 7 a.m. and close promptly at 8 p.m.
Where to vote: Find your polling place with the Rhode Island election office's official lookup.
ID at the polls: Voters must show a current and valid photo ID at the polls (and during early voting). Without one, a voter may cast a provisional ballot, or can obtain a free photo ID from the RI Department of State.

Rhode Island 2026 Election Questions

Who is running for governor of Rhode Island in 2026?

The tracked 2026 candidates for governor of Rhode Island are Helena Foulkes (D), Aaron Guckian (R), Elaine Pelino (R), Ken Block (I). Candidate fields follow official election office filings; see the race card on this page for biographies and priorities.

Who is running for U.S. Senate in Rhode Island in 2026?

The tracked 2026 U.S. Senate candidates in Rhode Island are Jack Reed (D), Ray McKay (R). Candidate fields follow official election office filings; see the race card on this page for biographies and priorities.

When is the Rhode Island 2026 primary election?

Rhode Island's 2026 state primary was held on September 9, 2026; the general election is November 3, 2026. Check your registration and polling place with your state election office.

When is the voter registration deadline in Rhode Island for the November 2026 election?

To vote in Rhode Island's November 3, 2026 general election, register online by Sunday, October 4, 2026; by mail Sunday, October 4, 2026; in person by Sunday, October 4, 2026, per the state election office.

When does early voting start in Rhode Island for the November 2026 election?

Early in-person voting in Rhode Island runs Wednesday, October 14, 2026 through Monday, November 2, 2026, per the state election office.

What is the deadline to request a mail ballot in Rhode Island for November 2026?

Rhode Island mail ballots: request by Tuesday, October 13, 2026; return: Must be received by the RI Board of Elections (2000 Plainfield Pike, Cranston) or an authorized elections drop box no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, November...; no excuse needed, per the state election office.

Where do I vote in Rhode Island in November 2026?

Polling places are assigned by address. Use the Rhode Island election office's official lookup at https://vote.sos.ri.gov to find yours; early-voting sites are listed there as well.

Find Your Exact Ballot

Enter an address to narrow statewide, congressional, county, and municipal races.

Voting Resources

Registration, deadlines, and official election links for voters.

Election Calendar

Track major 2026 dates and upcoming election milestones.

Note: State hubs summarize tracked places; exact ballot results depend on address and district boundaries.Profiles: Candidate data updates as official filings and campaign materials publish.