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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Rhode Island House District 9

1 candidate, listed alphabetically.

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The job

One of seventy-five members of the Rhode Island House: “commencing in 2003 there shall be seventy-five (75) members of the house of representatives”, from districts “as nearly equal in population and as compact in territory as possible” (Article VII, Section 1) [1]. Two-year terms, and a salary the constitution sets rather than the House (Article VI, Section 3) [1].

Where this office sits

  1. Federal
  2. State — this office
  3. County
  4. Local

A state office: its powers come from this state's own constitution and statutes.

What the job involves

  • Sits in a general assembly that meets every year: “There shall be a session of the general assembly at Providence commencing on the first Tuesday of January in each year” (Article VI, Section 3) [1].
  • Needs both chambers: “The concurrence of the two houses shall be necessary to the enactment of laws” (Article VI, Section 2) [1].
  • Overrides a veto at three-fifths of the members present and voting in each house, with every name entered on the journal — a lower bar than most states and counted on attendance rather than membership (Article IX, Section 14) [1].
  • Faces no item veto at all: a Rhode Island governor signs or rejects an appropriation bill whole (Article IX, Section 14) [1].
  • Works under a constitutional spending cap: appropriations may not exceed “ninety-seven percent (97%) of the estimated state general revenues”, and the remainder goes to the budget reserve account until it reaches five percent (Article IX, Section 16) [1].
  • Controls when the reserve may be spent: money in the budget reserve account “may be appropriated in the event of an emergency involving the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the state … or in the event of an unanticipated deficit”, by majority vote of each house (Article IX, Section 17) [1].
  • Needs two-thirds for local or private money: “The assent of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly shall be required to every bill appropriating the public money or property for local or private purposes” (Article VI, Section 11) [1].
  • Confirms the governor's appointments: the governor appoints “by and with the advice and consent of the senate, all officers of the state whose appointment is not herein otherwise provided for and all members of any board, commission or other state or quasi-public entity which exercises executive power” (Article IX, Section 5) [1].
  • Is paid a salary the constitution sets and indexes: ten thousand dollars a year from 1995, “adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living”, with the presiding officers paid double (Article VI, Section 3) [1].
  • Is barred from appearing as counsel: “No member of the general assembly shall take any fee, or be of counsel in any case pending before either house of the general assembly, under penalty of forfeiture of seat” (Article VI, Section 4) [1].
  • Can ask the Supreme Court for an answer: the justices “shall give their written opinion upon any question of law whenever requested by the governor or by either house of the general assembly” (Article X, Section 3) [1].

What the next officeholder will decide

The work waiting in the term being elected, from what the law puts in the job.

  • Two state budgets, each held under the ninety-seven percent cap [1].
  • Every veto, each undone by three-fifths of those present and voting [1].
  • Whether to spend from the budget reserve account, and on what [1].
  • In the Senate, every appointment to the boards and quasi-public bodies that run much of the state [1].
  • A two-year term from January 2027 [1].

Worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

  • The constitution caps appropriations at ninety-seven percent of estimated revenue. Is that the right number?
  • There is no item veto here — the governor signs the budget or rejects it whole. Does that strengthen you or the governor?
  • Local or private appropriations need two-thirds. What does that stop, and what does it make harder than it should be?
  • Either house can ask the Supreme Court for a written opinion. When would you?
  • Which committee would you seek, and what does it decide?

Sources for the job

  1. Constitution of the State of Rhode Island — Article IV (elections and campaign finance), Article VI (legislative power), Article VII (of the house of representatives), Article VIII (of the senate), Article IX (executive power) and Article X (judicial power) (Rhode Island General Assembly, Public record)

Where this office sits in state government

State Representative is one of 7 elected offices in this part of the drawing. The one handoff it is part of are drawn below and written out underneath.

StateRepresentative State Senator Governor Secretaryof State AttorneyGeneral GeneralTreasurer LieutenantGovernor Counties, cities, townsand school districts 1 They write the law and the budgetThey handle the money, the law and the electionsWho the law lands on
How Rhode Island's state government fits together. Not every office here is on this year's ballot, and each box leads to what that office does. The particulars — how a veto is overridden, how long a session runs — are on each office's own page, quoted from this state's constitution.

State Representative

A member of the lower chamber of the state legislature, which writes state law and the state budget.

One of seventy-five members of the Rhode Island House: “commencing in 2003 there shall be seventy-five (75) members of the house of representatives”, from districts “as nearly equal in population and as compact in territory as possible” (Article VII, Section 1). Two-year terms, and a salary the constitution sets rather than the House (Article VI, Section 3).

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • To State Senator: A bill has to pass both chambers in the same form before it can reach the governor, so one chamber's vote only gets it halfway. In most states a bill that raises revenue has to start in the lower chamber.

State Senator

A member of the upper chamber of the state legislature. A bill has to pass both chambers.

One of thirty-eight senators: the senate “shall consist of thirty-eight (38) members from the senatorial districts in the state” — cut from fifty in 2003 (Article VIII, Section 1). Senators are elected for two years and are paid a salary the constitution itself sets and indexes to the cost of living (Article VI, Section 3).

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From State Representative: A bill has to pass both chambers in the same form before it can reach the governor, so one chamber's vote only gets it halfway. In most states a bill that raises revenue has to start in the lower chamber.
  • To Governor: What both chambers pass goes to the governor to sign or veto. The share of each chamber needed to override a veto is set by this state's own constitution and is on the legislature's office page.
  • To Counties, cities, towns and school districts: The legislature writes the property tax, local tax and budget rules that every county, city, town and school district in the state has to work inside. A local council choosing a rate is choosing among options set here.

Governor

The state's chief executive. Signs or vetoes what the legislature passes, and runs the state agencies.

Rhode Island's chief executive: “The chief executive power of this state shall be vested in a governor, who, together with a lieutenant governor, shall be elected by the people”, and who “shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed” (Article IX, Sections 1 and 2). Four years, two consecutive terms at most, and subject to recall (Article IV, Section 1). There is no item veto here — a bill is signed or rejected whole — and a veto is overridden by three-fifths of the members present and voting (Article IX, Section 14).

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From State Senator: What both chambers pass goes to the governor to sign or veto. The share of each chamber needed to override a veto is set by this state's own constitution and is on the legislature's office page.
  • To Attorney General: The state's lawyer is elected separately in most states, so the governor cannot pick or remove the person who decides which laws to defend, which cases to bring, and which opinions to issue. Where the office is appointed instead, that page says so.
  • To Secretary of State: In most states this is the chief election official, elected on the same ballot it administers and not answerable to the governor. A few states put elections elsewhere; that office's page says which.
  • To General Treasurer: The governor proposes a budget and the legislature appropriates, but the money itself sits with a separately elected treasurer. What that office may do with it is set by this state's own law.
  • To Lieutenant Governor: In most states the lieutenant governor succeeds the governor and presides over the senate. Whether the two run on one ticket or are elected separately differs by state, and each page says which.
  • To Counties, cities, towns and school districts: State agencies under the governor license, inspect, fund and audit the counties, cities and school districts below. Much of what a local government can do in practice depends on a state agency's rules.

Secretary of State

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected for four years (Article IV, Section 1).

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected for four years (Article IV, Section 1). Like the attorney general and treasurer, the office's powers are “the same under this Constitution as are now established, or as from time to time may be prescribed by law” (Article IX, Section 12). The constitution does name two things: the secretary attests every state commission, and receives a governor's written disapproval of a bill after adjournment.

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From Governor: In most states this is the chief election official, elected on the same ballot it administers and not answerable to the governor. A few states put elections elsewhere; that office's page says which.

Attorney General

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected for four years (Article IV, Section 1).

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected for four years (Article IV, Section 1). The constitution says what it does by pointing backwards: “The duties and powers of the secretary, attorney-general and general treasurer shall be the same under this Constitution as are now established, or as from time to time may be prescribed by law” (Article IX, Section 12). Rhode Island has no counties with governments of their own and no county prosecutors, so the criminal work other states spread across dozens of elected prosecutors sits here.

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From Governor: The state's lawyer is elected separately in most states, so the governor cannot pick or remove the person who decides which laws to defend, which cases to bring, and which opinions to issue. Where the office is appointed instead, that page says so.

General Treasurer

Holds and invests the state's money.

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected for four years, whose powers are “the same under this Constitution as are now established, or as from time to time may be prescribed by law” (Article IV, Section 1; Article IX, Section 12). The office works inside a constitution that caps appropriations at ninety-seven percent of estimated revenue and establishes a budget reserve account for the rest.

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From Governor: The governor proposes a budget and the legislature appropriates, but the money itself sits with a separately elected treasurer. What that office may do with it is set by this state's own law.

Lieutenant Governor

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected in the officer's own right for four years (Article IV, Section 1).

One of Rhode Island's five general officers, elected in the officer's own right for four years (Article IV, Section 1). The office lost its traditional job in 2003: the lieutenant governor presided over the senate “until 2003”, and since then “the senate shall elect its president, who shall preside in the senate and in grand committee” (Article VI, Section 2). What remains in the constitution is the succession.

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From Governor: In most states the lieutenant governor succeeds the governor and presides over the senate. Whether the two run on one ticket or are elected separately differs by state, and each page says which.

Counties, cities, towns and school districts

Every local government in the state. None of them can tax or spend outside what the legislature allows.

Elected separately, each at its own level.

Who it works with, and what passes between them:

  • From State Senator: The legislature writes the property tax, local tax and budget rules that every county, city, town and school district in the state has to work inside. A local council choosing a rate is choosing among options set here.
  • From Governor: State agencies under the governor license, inspect, fund and audit the counties, cities and school districts below. Much of what a local government can do in practice depends on a state agency's rules.

Every office drawn here has its full description, quoted from Rhode Island's own constitution with sources, on its race pages.

Candidates

Enrique Sanchez

DemocraticIncumbent

In office now
State Representative, District 9

Enrique Sanchez is the sitting State Representative for District 9 in the Rhode Island General Assembly.

Sources for Sanchez

Sources

Candidate list and race details

What's included
U.S. Senate and House, statewide offices, every state legislative district on the ballot and statewide ballot measures.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: vote.sos.ri.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Wednesday, October 14, 2026.

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.