1980Final results
1980 election for Rhode Island House District 17
Rhode Island House of Representatives · Rhode Island
Matthew J. Smith (D) won with 85.0% of the vote, defeating Abraham Sanders (R) by 70.1 points.
Matthew J. SmithDemocrat · winner · incumbent
85.0%2,142
Abraham SandersRepublican
15.0%377
2,519 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 1980
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET