Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse wins a fourth term in the US Senate from Rhode Island

By MICHAEL CASEY The Associated Press

People walk past a sign that points the direction toward a voting location during early voting in the general election, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at City Hall in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Steven Senne]

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island won reelection on Tuesday to a fourth term to the U.S. Senate.

Whitehouse beat Patricia Morgan, a Republican state representative who was the first woman to serve as minority leader in the Rhode Island House. Whitehouse had a huge financial advantage, outraising Morgan more than 25-1.

“It’s an honor to fight every single day on behalf of Rhode Islanders, and I’m deeply grateful for the trust you’ve placed in me,” Whitehouse said in a statement Tuesday evening. “I will spend the next six years working hard to make our government and economy work for all Rhode Islanders.”

Whitehouse has long championed the fight against climate change and campaigned on a promise to protect Medicare and Social Security benefits. More recently, he has worked to reform the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as Rhode Island’s U.S. Attorney and state attorney general before being elected to the Senate in 2006.

In his victory statement, Whitehouse touched on his climate change and Supreme Court efforts, saying he was “in the middle of some big fights,” and would return to Washington encouraged by voters’ strong support.

FILE - Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/J. Scott Applewhite

On the campaign trail, Whitehouse noted that he and fellow representatives from Rhode Island have helped bring in about $200 million in federal funds to replace the Washington Bridge.

Morgan campaigned to close the U.S. border and finish building a wall on the southern border with Mexico. She supports the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. In the debate, she said she opposed a plan pushed by the senator that would help stabilize Social Security funding by increasing taxes on people making more than $400,000 a year.

“Obviously, the voters have chosen and I accept that result,” Morgan said Tuesday night. “I’m disappointed because I had a vision that I thought was better for the people of Rhode Island and that would have made their lives better.”

During his three terms in office, Whitehouse wrote the bipartisan legislation providing funding for communities, health workers and law enforcement fighting the deadly opioid overdose crisis and long championed the Affordable Care Act.