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Rhode Island Democratic Party

political organization in Rhode Island, U.S.

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ7320908
Source-derived summary

The Rhode Island Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Elizabeth Perik is the chair of the party. The party has dominated politics in Rhode Island for the past five decades.

Democratic Party dominance in Rhode Island

For nearly five decades, Rhode Island has been one of the United States' most solidly Democratic states. Since 1928, it has voted for the Republican presidential candidate only four times (Dwight Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984) and has elected only two Republicans (former Governor John H. Chafee and his son, Lincoln Chafee, though the younger Chafee became a Democrat during his later governorship) to the U.S. Senate since 1934. Rhode Island sent no Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives from 1940 until 1980, when one Republican and one Democrat were elected. In 1980, Rhode Island was one of only six states to be won by incumbent president Jimmy Carter. However, Republican Edward DiPrete was elected governor in 1984 and Ronald Reagan narrowly carried the state in the 1984 presidential election. In the 2000 presidential election, Democrat Al Gore won 61% of the popular vote in the state.

An analysis of Gallup polling data shows the Democratic advantage over the Republican Party in Rhode Island voters plunged between 2008 and 2011.

Editorial summary

“Rhode Island Democratic Party” enters the record as political organization in Rhode Island, U.S. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Rhode, Island and Democratic can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1928, 1952, 1956, 1972—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Rhode, Island and Democratic.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Rhode Island Democratic Party” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Rhode, Island and Democratic provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7320908. VIAF identifies the subject as 129154171. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1928, 1952, 1956 and 1972.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Rhode Island Democratic Party”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Rhode Island Democratic Party primary sources, Rhode Island Democratic Party archive and Rhode research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rhode Island Democratic Party”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Rhode Island Democratic Party” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.