Helena Foulkes defeats incumbent Dan McKee in Rhode Island Democratic gubernatorial primary
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes won the Democratic primary for Rhode Island governor, defeating incumbent Dan McKee, who faced criticism over the Washington Bridge closure and a large spending gap.
Helena Foulkes, a former CVS executive, secured the Democratic nomination for Rhode Island governor, defeating incumbent Dan McKee, who had sought a second full term. The result marks the first loss for a sitting governor in a primary this year and the first in the state since 2018.
Polls in August showed McKee trailing by double digits, and an ad-tracking firm reported that Foulkes outspent him on television ads by a three-to-one margin. The campaign was dominated by criticism of McKee’s 2023 decision to close the Washington Bridge in Providence after engineers identified serious structural flaws. An Emerson College poll found that 63% of likely voters disapproved of his handling of the bridge, while only 18% approved.
"We need to fix the worst roads and bridges in the state," Foulkes said in campaign advertisements, adding that she would focus on boosting the economy and expanding housing.
McKee defended the bridge closure as a safety measure and said construction is expected to finish by 2028. The primary drew limited national attention, but Foulkes benefits from connections to prominent Democrats, including former Connecticut senators Thomas and Chris Dodd and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who campaigned for her.
With Rhode Island leaning heavily Democratic in recent elections, Foulkes is now the favorite to win the general election.