1988Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1988 election for Rhode Island's 1st District
U.S. House · Rhode Island
Ronald Machtley (R) won with 55.6% of the vote, defeating Fernand J. St Germain (D) by 11.3 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Ronald MachtleyRepublican · winner
55.6%105,506
Fernand J. St GermainDemocrat
44.4%84,141
189,647 votes
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1988
Races before and after
Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET
Money in this race
Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.
Fernand J. St GermainRonald Machtley
$669K
Raised by the campaign
$417.4K
$801.3K
Spent by the campaign
$385.4K
$244.6K
Cash on hand
$32K
Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1988.
Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1988