RI Primary Election 2020: Incumbents Lead The Night

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's primary night results only show the numbers from in-person ballots cast at polls on Tuesday, with mail-in ballots — a large percentage of votes — not expected for several days, meaning it could be awhile before certified results and official calls. However, early leaders emerged Tuesday night, with incumbents, on the whole, in the lead. Congressman Jim Langevin, for example, is poised to defend his seat from challenger Dylan Conley.

According to the Providence Journal, Tuesday night's results only reflect machine counts from ballots cast in-person at the polls. Mail-in ballot results aren't expected until Thursday.

While Sen. Jack Reed and Congressman David Cicilline are both running unopposed in their primaries, Langevin, who represents the state's 2nd District, has a Democratic challenger and two opponents squaring off on the Republican side. As of 11 p.m., Langevin held a commanding lead over Conley, representing 95 percent of in-person districts reporting. On the Republican side, Robert Lancia surged ahead of Donald Robbio, making him Langevin's likely opponent in the Nov. 3 general election.

• D — James Langevin (incumbent): 12,992 votes, 65.6 percent
• D — Dylan Conley: 6,823, 34.4 percent
• R — Robert Lancia: 5,760, 73.3 percent
• R — Donald Robbio: 2,093, 26.7 percent

When it comes to State House races, incumbents held commanding leads throughout the night, outstripping challengers in Senate District 37 and House of Representatives districts 34, 72 and 35. In Providence's House District 3, Moira Walsh conceded to Nathan Biah.

"Representation matters," Walsh tweeted. "Congrats to all the district 3 voters who finally got an opportunity to vote for a man who has lived their experience. I’ve loved being your representative but I’m so happy for my neighbors who got the rep they wanted."

Read more: RI Primary Results: Who's Ahead In State House, Senate Races

As of 7:45 p.m., 44,386 ballots had been cast at polls across the state, according to the Rhode Island Board of Elections. Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea's office reported that approximately 44,800 voters were sent mail-in ballots as well.

Local races: Read more

• Sweeney, 4 Others Lead In Bristol Democratic Town Council Primary
• Pugh Leads Pack Of 16 In Narragansett Town Council Primary
• Bova, 7 Others Ahead In Newport Council-At-Large Primary
• Shockley Leads Coventry's District 5 Town Council Primary
• Bucci Ahead, Hopkins Wins Cranston Mayoral Primary
• Collins, Boyd Lead In South Kingstown Democratic Primary