1984Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1984 election for Rhode Island Senate District 17
Rhode Island State Senate · Rhode Island
Thomas A. Lynch (D) won with 57.2% of the vote, defeating William Pearson (R) by 14.4 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Thomas A. LynchDemocrat · winner
57.2%4,690
William PearsonRepublican · incumbent
42.8%3,510
8,200 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 1984
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET