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Sheldon Whitehouse

U.S. Senate · RI · Democrats · since 2025

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Candidate for U.S. Senate · RI

Target Sheldon

Biography

Overview

Sheldon Whitehouse is a Democratic U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, serving since 2007. Born October 20, 1955, he is an attorney who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island (1993-1998) and Rhode Island Attorney General (1999-2003). He was first elected to the Senate in 2006, defeating Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee with 53% of the vote. He has been reelected three times—in 2012 with 64.9% of the vote, in 2018, and in 2024.

Career

As U.S. Attorney, Whitehouse secured the first conviction of a mobster under Clinton's "three-strikes law." As Rhode Island Attorney General, he initiated lawsuits against the lead paint industry. In the Senate, he has championed climate action, introducing the SAFE Act and consistently advocating for mandatory emissions curbs and carbon tax policies. He voted to confirm Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. He has been a leading critic of "dark money" in politics and its influence on the Supreme Court, convening hearings on the topic. He also advocated for Supreme Court reform, including term limits and ethics rules. In 2024, he reintroduced legislation to prohibit commercial octopus farming based on environmental and animal welfare concerns.

Prior political experience

Whitehouse was first elected to the Senate in 2006, defeating Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee with 53% of the vote. This made him the first Democrat to win this Rhode Island Senate seat since John Pastore in 1970. He was reelected in 2012, defeating Republican Barry Hinckley by 30 points with 64.9% of the vote. He won reelection again in 2018, defeating Republican Robert Flanders by 23 points. Most recently, in 2024, he was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Republican Patricia Morgan by 20 points.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress-0.349

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
-0.112
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 652 scored votes

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Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
4thU.S. Senate RI Class 12025–presentIn progressSheldon Whitehouse—
3rdU.S. Senate RI Class 12019–2025Term endedSheldon WhitehouseSheldon Whitehouse
2ndU.S. Senate RI Class 12013–2019Term endedSheldon WhitehouseSheldon Whitehouse
1stU.S. Senate RI Class 12007–2013Term ended—Sheldon Whitehouse

Committee assignments

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
2024U.S. Senate RI Class 1Pending59.90%