1996Final results
1996 election for Rhode Island Senate District 23
Rhode Island State Senate · Rhode Island
John A. Patterson (R) won with 50.2% of the vote, defeating Richard A. Welch (D) by 0.4 points.
John A. PattersonRepublican · winner
50.2%4,202
Richard A. WelchDemocrat
49.8%4,165
8,367 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 1996
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET