1988 United States Senate election in Rhode Island

1988 United States Senate election in Rhode Island
	Chafee: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%; Licht: 50–60% 60–70%
U.S. senator before election; John Chafee; Republican	Elected U.S. Senator ; John Chafee; Republican

The 1988 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John Chafee won re-election to a third term.

Major candidates

Democratic

Richard Licht, Lieutenant Governor and former State Senator

Republican

John Chafee, U.S. Senator since 1976

Results

Chafee defeated Licht by a wide margin, winning every county in the state with 55% of the vote. This was despite 56% of Rhode Island voting for Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis in the concurrent presidential election. Many voters therefore split their tickets.

General election results^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	John Chafee (Incumbent)	217,273	54.59%	+3.39%
	Democratic	Richard Licht	180,717	45.41%	−3.39%
Majority			36,556	9.19%	+6.79%
Turnout			397,990
	Republican hold		Swing

References

^ Dendy, Dallas (1989). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988" (PDF). Washington: US Government Printing Office. p. 44. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.

[1] Dendy, Dallas (1989). "Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 8, 1988" (PDF). Washington: US Government Printing Office. p. 44. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.

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