PolitiFinder

1986 Rhode Island Gubernatorial Election

Rhode Island · 2 candidates · See every 1986 Governor race

Who won the 1986 Rhode Island Gubernatorial Election?

Edward D. DiPrete won the 1986 Rhode Island Gubernatorial Election. Edward D. DiPrete received 208,822 popular votes (64.7%). The main challenger was Bruce Sundlun (32.4%).

See the full head-to-head between DiPrete and Sundlun

DiPrete +32.3 pts · won by 104,318 votes
Edward D. DiPreteRepublicanWINNER64.7%
208,822 votes
Bruce SundlunDemocratic32.4%
104,504 votes
Other candidates received the remaining 2.9% of the popular vote; only the leading candidates are individually recorded for this election.
Popular-vote totals for governor elections are compiled from official state results (via Wikipedia); Louisiana shows the decisive round of its jungle primary.

Data last verified July 28, 2026.