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 County results Municipality resultsChafee: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Weygand: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 United States Senate election in Rhode Island was held on November 7, 2000.Republican U.S. SenatorJohn Chafee had announced in 1999 that he would not seek reelection, leading his son,Lincoln Chafee, to announce his own candidacy. The elder Chafee, however, died a few months later; his son was appointed to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. The younger Chafee, now the incumbent, sought a full term and won, defeatingDemocratic U.S. RepresentativeBob Weygand. As of 2024[update], this was the last congressional election in Rhode Island to be won by a Republican.
Weygand defeated former nominee Licht in the Democratic primary by a fair margin.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Weygand | 51,769 | 57.49 | |
| Democratic | Richard A. Licht | 38,281 | 42.51 | |
| Total votes | 90,050 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lincoln Chafee (Incumbent) | 2,221 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 2,221 | 100.00 | ||
At a state and federal level, Rhode Island has been one of the most Democratic states in the country since the 1930s. The state voted Republican only in landslide presidential elections. In the concurrent 2000 presidential election, Al Gore was safely favored to win by the state.
Nonetheless, former SenatorJohn Chafee managed to continually win re-election as a moderate Republican. Chafee died in 1999 and his son, Lincoln, was appointed to the seat. Lincoln Chafee similarly was a moderate Republican as Mayor of Warwick.
In the general election, Republican Chafee won a full term with 57% of the vote to his opponent due to heavy ticket splitting. Al Gore carried Rhode Island in the concurrent presidential election with 61% of the vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lincoln Chafee (Incumbent) | 222,588 | 56.88% | −7.65% | |
| Democratic | Robert Weygand | 161,023 | 41.15% | +5.67% | |
| Reform | Christopher Young | 4,107 | 1.05% | ||
| Independent | Kenneth Proulx | 3,635 | 0.93% | ||
| Majority | 61,565 | 15.73% | −13.32% | ||
| Turnout | 391,353 | ||||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
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