1990 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

The 1990 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Democratic nominee Bruce Sundlun defeated incumbent Republican Edward D. DiPrete with 74.15% of the vote.

1990 Rhode Island gubernatorial election

← 1988 November 6, 1990 1992 →

Nominee Bruce Sundlun Edward D. DiPrete Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 264,411 92,177 Percentage 74.2% 25.8%

County results Municipality results Sundlun:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Edward D. DiPrete Republican Elected Governor Bruce Sundlun Democratic

This is the last time that an incumbent governor of Rhode Island lost re-election, as of 2024.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on September 11, 1990.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Bruce Sundlun, businessman
• Francis X. Flaherty, Mayor of Warwick
• Joseph R. Paolino Jr., Mayor of Providence

Results

Results by municipality:

Sundlun

•   Sundlun—30–40%
•   Sundlun—40–50%
•   Sundlun—50–60%

Flaherty

•   Flaherty—30–40%
•   Flaherty—40–50%

Paolino

•   Paolino—30–40%
•   Paolino—40–50%
•   Paolino—50–60%

Democratic primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce Sundlun	68,021	40.51
	Democratic	Francis X. Flaherty	53,821	32.05
	Democratic	Joseph R. Paolino Jr.	46,074	27.44
Total votes			167,916	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Edward D. DiPrete, incumbent governor
• Steve White

Results

Republican primary results^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Edward D. DiPrete (incumbent)	7,644	70.77
	Republican	Steve White	3,157	29.23
Total votes			10,801	100.00

General election

Candidates

• Bruce Sundlun, Democratic
• Edward D. DiPrete, Republican

Results

1990 Rhode Island gubernatorial election^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bruce Sundlun	264,411	74.15%
	Republican	Edward D. DiPrete (incumbent)	92,177	25.85%
Total votes			356,672	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

References

1. "1990 Count Book" (PDF). Secretary of State of Rhode Island. 1990. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 2, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.