Rhode Island

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In one of the most reliably Democratic states in the nation, President Obama easily won Rhode Island’s four electoral votes.

Representative David Cicilline, a freshman Democrat, won the state’s most hotly contested race, defeating the Republican candidate in the First District, Brendan Doherty, a former state police superintendent.

Mr. Cicilline appeared vulnerable early in the race because of revelations of financial problems in Providence, where he was the mayor before winning a House seat. But he recovered and won by a margin significantly larger than pre-election polls had suggested.

Republicans, seeing an unusual opportunity to win a seat in Congress from the heavily Democratic district, stepped up their attacks on Mr. Cicilline in the final weeks of the campaign. The national parties poured money into the race, running sharply negative advertisements.

Two other Democrats, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Jim Langevin, defeated their opponents by large margins. Mr. Whitehouse, a former state attorney general, won a second term in the Senate over Barry Hinckley, a Republican businessman. Mr. Langevin won a seventh term in the House, coasting to victory over Michael Riley, a Republican investment adviser.