# Sam Bell

Sam Bell is a Democratic member of the Rhode Island Senate for district 5.

- Party: Democrat
- Seat: Rhode Island Senate, district 5
- Serving since: 2019-01-01
- Current term: RI 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/8d466b6a-ea53-46bb-aa86-3131ac76533f

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/8d466b6a-ea53-46bb-aa86-3131ac76533f (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

9.6% of Bell’s statements contain a personal attack, 4.0 times the State Senate Democrat average of 2.4%.

## What Bell says (RI 2025–26 session)

427 classified statements: 427 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Democrats average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Bell | State Senate Democrats average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 9.6% | 2.4% | 19 of 329 |
| Policy criticism | 27.6% | 10.3% | 22 of 329 |
| Policy discussion | 50.8% | 42.9% | 129 of 329 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.5% | 3.4% | 252 of 329 |
| Credit claiming | 4.0% | 16.1% | 276 of 329 |
| Extreme labels | 3.8% | 0.8% | 22 of 329 |

Most discussed policy areas: Government Operations and Politics 20% (State Senate Democrats 14%); Crime and Law Enforcement 13% (State Senate Democrats 8.4%); Economics and Public Finance 13% (State Senate Democrats 10%); Housing and Community Development 12% (State Senate Democrats 6.7%); Education 11% (State Senate Democrats 15%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score −0.37 (standard error 0.01), from 411 donors and 939 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 87% of State Senate Democrats score lower.

## Votes (RI 2025–26 session)

912 roll calls. Attendance 99.4% (Rhode Island Senate 96.4%). Party unity 94.6% (94.6%). 48 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 2678 AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- TEACHERS' RETIREMENT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2678/
- 2026-06-11 · voted nay · In Concurrence · SB 2292 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- DISARMING A PEACE OFFICER · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2292/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 3361 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE AND SALE · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3361/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 3366 AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3366/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · In Concurrence · SB 2734 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2734/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · In Concurrence · SB 3184 AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- NURSES · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3184/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 2330 AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION AND TITLING · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2330/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 2045 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- PROTECT OUR COURTS ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2045/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 3361 AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE AND SALE · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3361/
- 2026-06-11 · voted yea · Passage · SB 2045 AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- PROTECT OUR COURTS ACT · pass · https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2045/

## Legislation (RI 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 226 bills: 226 reached committee, 71 passed one chamber, 26 passed both, 26 became law. Cosponsored 0. 31.4% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Rhode Island Senate 41.9%; rank 32 of 38).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SR 3351: SENATE RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF JUNE 2026 AS "PRIDE MONTH" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-06-04) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3351/
- SR 3234: SENATE RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING MAY 2026 AS “JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH” IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND (passed one chamber, 2026-04-28) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3234/
- SB 3217: AN ACT RELATING TO DOMESTIC RELATIONS -- DOMESTIC ABUSE PREVENTION (in committee, 2026-05-19) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3217/
- SB 3116: AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RESTRICTIONS ON STATE AND MUNICIPAL COOPERATION WITH CIVIL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT (passed one chamber, 2026-06-04) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3116/
- SR 3016: JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF $800,000 TO WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE (in committee, 2026-05-12) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3016/
- SR 3021: JOINT RESOLUTION TO APPROVE AND PUBLISH AND SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS A PROPOSITION OF AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION -- OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER (in committee, 2026-05-26) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SR3021/
- SB 3036: AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS (became law, 2026-06-22) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3036/
- SB 3040: AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ACTIONS BY AND AGAINST TOWNS (in committee, 2026-05-21) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB3040/
- SB 2930: AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (in committee, 2026-05-06) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2930/
- SB 2928: AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES AND WORKPLACES ACT (in committee, 2026-04-08) https://openstates.org/ri/bills/2026/SB2928/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $39.5K (State Senate Democrats median $55.5K). 72% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-22 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2113405975889686710
- 2026-10-13 · Post on X · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2110092576220926118
- 2026-10-05 · Post on X · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2107249074873508137
- 2026-10-03 · Post on X · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2106531186642149483
- 2026-09-23 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2102584985819779556
- 2026-09-23 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2102720865544630653
- 2026-09-18 · Post on X · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2101051619181773088
- 2026-09-18 · Post on X · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2101097867935203347
- 2026-09-08 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2097393770656399766
- 2026-09-05 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/SamuelWBell/status/2096219165661036599

## Links

- Official site: https://www.rilegislature.gov/senators/bell/Pages/Biography.aspx
- Campaign site: https://www.sambellpvd.com/
- X: https://x.com/SamuelWBell
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sambellforstatesenate
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samuelwbell
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuelwbell/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-bell-46154770/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/8d466b6a-ea53-46bb-aa86-3131ac76533f