Seth Magaziner (D) defeated Allan Fung (R) and Bill Gilbert (I) in the general election to represent Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2022. Incumbent Jim Langevin (D) announced on January 18, 2022, that he would not seek reelection after eleven consecutive terms in office, creating an open seat.
According to The Providence Journal, “The unusually competitive race has been a nail-biter for Democrats, who came close to losing a seat that they have held for over 30 years. In the lead-up to the election, national outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal highlighted Fung’s lead in the polls, suggesting that it was emblematic of the gains that Republicans stood to make in [the] year’s midterm elections…Fung, well known from his 11 years as mayor of Cranston and past campaigns for governor, focused almost exclusively on inflation, especially high energy prices. Magaziner, the two-term state treasurer, argued that electing Fung would help Republicans gain control of Congress. The main point of disagreement between the two candidates boiled down to whether Fung could accurately be called a ‘moderate’ and if he’d vote in lockstep with the rest of his party…”
The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 118th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.
Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 56.1% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 42.4%.
Learn More
