Dem incumbent survives challenge as GOP picks a winner in Rhode Island Senate primaries

Voters in Rhode Island showed up at the polls today to decide who will square off in November’s U.S. Senate race.

The Rhode Island Democratic primary pitted incumbent Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who is seeking a fourth term, against Michael Costa, a former Republican who had a brief run for governor in 2022. The Republican contest, meanwhile, pitted State Rep. Patricia Morgan against former Warwick City Administrator Raymond T. McKay.

Sheldon Whitehouse emerged as the Democrats’ champion and will square off with GOP nominee Patricia Morgan in November.

The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening, less than 20 minutes after polls closed.

Costa told WPRI last month that he was hoping to bring Washington “understanding and caring, pragmatism and realism.”

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Costa also argued he wanted a “country that is not just great, but is also good.”

One that addresses obvious problems without constantly seeking partisan advantage – yes, immigration really does need to be both controlled and fair; yes, excessive government spending really does spark inflation so real budgets require choosing; yes, climate change requires a global solution, an engineering one,” Costa said.

Whitehouse, meanwhile, argued he had unfinished business in the Senate.

“I’m leading the fight to clean up the mess at the Supreme Court, which is delivering for the billionaires who paid to capture it while taking away the freedom of women to make their own life decisions and the freedom of kids to be safe in their own schools. I’ve gone toe-to-toe with Big Oil to prevent climate change from completely transforming the map of Rhode Island and to stop price gouging at the gas pump,” Whitehouse told WPRI.