The United States of America operates under a presidential system of government. American citizens can elect to office the candidates they believe will best fill a particular position. Each state elects officials to several offices including the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, Governor, Secretary of State, and other offices. Rhode Island's elected officials are predominantly Democrats. The upper house of the United States Congress is called the Senate. Rhode Island, like every state, elects two senators. Democrat Jack Reed has been a senator since he was elected in 1996 (2). Senator Reed is an advocate for affordable housing and it has been a platform for him since the beginning of his political career. The New York Times is quoted saying, “Mr. Reed has had a passion for housing issues throughout his career. in 2008 (Senator). He wrote laws that are now creating a new affordable housing trust fund, improving homebuyer mortgage reporting, and addressing middle-class families struggling in the current housing crisis. Rhode Island's other senator is Sheldon Whitehouse. Senator Whitehouse is a Democrat and was elected to the United States Senate on November 7, 2006 (Biography). One of his greatest successes was the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, signed into law in 2013. This act targets cancers that have five-year survival rates of less than fifty percent, such as pancreatic, ovarian, and of the lungs (biography). the lower house of the United States Congress is called the House of Representatives. The number of seats per state is determined by the size of the population and as such Rhode Island has two representatives. The first elected representative of the congressional district is David N. Cicilline. Democ...... middle of document....... Fox.Works cited "List of Government Officials". Ri.gov. State of Rhode Island and Web. 01 February 2014. "Senator Jack Reed - United States Senator for Rhode Island." Reed.senate.gov. Senator Jack Reed and Web. January 31, 2014. "Biography: Sheldon Whitehouse." Whitehouse.senate.gov. Np, nd Web. 01 February 2014. "David Cicilline: Complete Biography." Cicilline.house.gov. Np, nd Web. February 01, 2014."Welcome Congressman Jim Langevin." Langevin.house.gov. Np, nd Web. 01 February 2014. “State of Rhode Island: Office of the Governor.” Governor.ri.gov. State of Rhode Island and Web. 01 February 2014. "Lincoln Chafee will not seek re-election in 2014." Huffingtonpost.com. HuffPost Politics, September 4, 2013. Web. February 1, 2014. “State of Rhode Island: Office of the Secretary of State.” Sos.ri.gov. State of Rhode Island and Web. 01 February. 2014.