Dem incumbent survives challenge as GOP picks a winner in Rhode Island Senate primaries

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Voters in Rhode Island showed up at the polls today to decide who will square off in November's U.S. Senate race.

The Rhode Island Democrat primary pitted incumbent Sheldon Whitehouse, who is seeking a fourth term, against Michael Costa, a former Republican who had a brief run for governor in 2022. The Republican contest, meanwhile, pitted state Rep. Patricia Morgan against former Warwick City Administrator Raymond T. McKay.

Sheldon Whitehouse emerged as the Democrats' champion and will square off with GOP nominee Patricia Morgan in November.

The Associated Press called the race on Tuesday evening, less than 20 minutes after polls closed.

Costa told WPRI last month that he was hoping to bring to Washington "understanding and caring, pragmatism and realism."

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/File)

Costa also said he wanted a "country that is not just great but is also good."

"One that addresses obvious problems without constantly seeking partisan advantage. Yes, immigration really does need to be both controlled and fair; yes, excessive government spending really does spark inflation, so real budgets require choosing; yes, climate change requires a global solution, an engineering one," Costa said.

Whitehouse, meanwhile, argued he had unfinished business in the Senate.

"I’m leading the fight to clean up the mess at the Supreme Court, which is delivering for the billionaires who paid to capture it while taking away the freedom of women to make their own life decisions and the freedom of kids to be safe in their own schools. I’ve gone toe-to-toe with Big Oil to prevent climate change from completely transforming the map of Rhode Island and to stop price gouging at the gas pump," Whitehouse told WPRI.

Allan Fung, a 2022 Republican candidate for Rhode Island's 2nd Congressional District, greets state Rep. Patricia Morgan in Warwick, R.I., on Oct. 27, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

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Morgan ran a campaign centered around the economy, promising to help struggling families fighting against "damaging policies" from the nation’s capital.

"Hardworking Rhode Islanders deserve better. I have fought for them for 12 years in the General Assembly, to let them keep more of the money they work so hard to make. Rhode Islanders and all Americans deserve a Senator who cares about their best interests, not his own bank account," Morgan told WPRI last month.

(Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images/File)

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McKay, meanwhile, highlighted his military experience in the campaign.

"My extensive military background and professional career uniquely qualify me to represent Rhode Island. I served 11 years in the United States Army, specializing in electronic maintenance for the Pershing Nuclear Missile System in West Germany and training as a computer programmer at Fort Sill and Fort Gordon," McKay told WPRI.