Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes defeated incumbent Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the Democratic primary, capitalizing on voter frustration over the long-delayed Washington Bridge reconstruction project. Foulkes enters the general election as a heavy favorite in the heavily blue state.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee lost his Democratic primary bid to former corporate executive Helena Foulkes, according to election projections, making him the first sitting governor to fall in a primary contest since 2018. The race concluded after a campaign dominated by voter discontent over crumbling infrastructure and a significant spending disadvantage for the incumbent, as NBC News reported. In an election season marked by a wave of anti-incumbent energy, McKee, 75, became the first governor to fall in a primary this year and the first in eight years, while Foulkes is 62 years old.
The Washington Bridge Crisis and Voter Discontent
The defining issue of the primary was McKee’s handling of the Washington Bridge, a vital commuter thoroughfare connecting Providence and East Providence that carries roughly 100,000 vehicles daily. State engineers ordered the bridge closed in December 2023 after discovering major structural problems that could have caused it to eventually collapse. McKee’s 2023 decision to close the bridge hung over his campaign, and the bridge remains under construction.
What was initially projected as a temporary closure stretched into years of disruption, and state officials now estimate that the new bridge will not open to the public until November 2028. McKee has defended his decision to close the bridge by saying he prioritized safety over politics, and has said construction will be completed by 2028.
An Emerson College poll conducted in August showed that 63 percent of likely Rhode Island voters disapproved of McKee’s management of the bridge, with just 18 percent expressing approval. Throughout her campaign, Foulkes utilized the infrastructure failures in her advertising, stating that the state had the worst roads and bridges,
while also touting her plans to boost the state’s economy and housing market.
A Rematch Marked by Fundraising and Polling Deficits
The primary served as a rematch of the 2022 Democratic contest, when Foulkes narrowly lost to McKee, who had replaced then-Gov. Gina Raimondo after she was selected for President Joe Biden’s Cabinet in 2021. McKee became governor of Rhode Island in March 2021 after Raimondo left the post in order to become the U.S. commerce secretary under President Joe Biden. In 2022, McKee sought the nomination for a full term, emerging victorious from a five-way Democratic primary for the nomination only after a close fight with Foulkes where McKee won 32.8 percent of the vote, placing him just ahead of Foulkes, who finished at 29.9 percent, and ultimately winning with 58 percent of the vote.
This cycle, however, public polling had shown McKee, who was running for a full second term, trailing by double digits heading into Tuesday, and McKee never leading in a single poll across the election cycle. The most recent poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire, placed Foulkes ahead with 56 percent support compared to McKee’s 18 percent, with no poll taken during the entire election cycle showing more than 30 percent support for McKee. When the race was called by The Associated Press at 8:23 p.m. ET after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time, Foulkes led with 62.6 percent to McKee’s 37.4 percent, with 71 percent of the votes counted.
Financial backing heavily favored Foulkes, who outspent the incumbent on the airwaves by a 3-to-1 margin, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. McKee also faced questions and criticisms on the campaign trail in relation to a 2024 state investigation by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and the state police into potential bribery or campaign finance violations by McKee. The investigation found that McKee personally and directly intervened
in the awarding of a multimillion-dollar state contract, but that he did not violate the state’s bribery or campaign finance laws. Neronha endorsed Foulkes in March, and during the campaign, McKee shot back at Foulkes with long-standing allegations that CVS helped to fuel the opioid crisis.
General Election Outlook in a Deep Blue State
With the primary decided, Foulkes advances as the heavy favorite in a solidly Democratic state where Kamala Harris carried it by nearly 14 points in the 2024 presidential election, and Rhode Island hasn’t elected a Republican governor since 2010. Foulkes also has connections to powerful Democrats, as her uncle and grandfather, Thomas Dodd and Chris Dodd, were both U.S. senators from Connecticut, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was a college roommate of Foulkes’ mother, campaigned for her.
On the Republican side—which faces an uphill climb in the deep blue state regardless of the Democratic nominee—the contest featured a matchup between Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino for the nomination. As of 8:45 p.m., the race was too close for The Associated Press to call, with Guckian leading with 50.6 percent of the vote to Pelino’s 49.4 percent. Guckian is a 2022 nominee for lieutenant governor who has now won the state party’s backing for the gubernatorial nomination, while Pelino is a former actress and first-time candidate.
Читайте также
