1972Final results
1972 election for Rhode Island Senate District 38
Rhode Island State Senate · Rhode Island
John F. McBurney III (D) won with 65.2% of the vote, defeating Ronald C. Mahaffey (R) by 30.5 points.
John F. McBurney IIIDemocrat · winner · incumbent
65.2%4,048
Ronald C. MahaffeyRepublican
34.8%2,156
6,204 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1972
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET