PolitiFinder

1988 Rhode Island U.S. Senate Election

Rhode Island · 2 candidates · See every 1988 U.S. Senate race

Who won the 1988 Rhode Island U.S. Senate Election?

John H. Chaffee won the 1988 Rhode Island U.S. Senate Election. John H. Chaffee received 217,273 popular votes (54.59%). The main challenger was Richard A. Licht (45.41%).

See the full head-to-head between Chaffee and Licht

Chaffee +9.2 pts · won by 36,556 votes
John H. ChaffeeRepublicanWINNER54.59%
217,273 votes
Richard A. LichtDemocratic45.41%
180,717 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. Senate elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.