McKee and Foulkes clash on CVS, Washington Bridge and Pawtucket soccer stadium in WPRO debate

After years of sparring over press releases, media interviews and TV commercials, Gov. Dan McKee and Helena Buonanno Foulkes finally confronted each other face-to-face in the first gubernatorial debate of the 2026 election cycle.

The 60-minute pre-taped segment, which aired at noon on WPRO 630 AM and on host Bill Bartholomew’s news podcast, is also the first head to head between the two Democratic gubernatorial candidates since the 2022 gubernatorial primary. McKee beat Foulkes by 3 percentage points in the four-way race in 2022, but is now polling 20 points behind his challenger.  

As rain pelted WPRO’s Riverside studio Monday morning, the rivals hammered each other on professional records and personal politics. Much of the conflict centered on longstanding grievances, like Foulkes’ role in the opioid crisis as former head of CVS Pharmacy and how McKee’s administration has handled the Washington Bridge closure and rebuild. 

“My opponent worked in a boardroom, putting profits over people for her entire career,” McKee said in his 60-second opening statement. 

Referencing her $900,000 second-quarter fundraising haul — more than three times the $253,000 McKee raised in the same three-month period, McKee added, “She believes she can buy this election with her money, and I would say this office is not for sale.”

Foulkes did not mention the incumbent governor at all in her own, counter-opening statement, but did not wait long to return the critique as the debate focus shifted to the Washington Bridge. 

Her multi-pronged criticism includes the extended timeline and deadline to finish the rebuild, along with the delayed release of a state-commissioned audit suggesting the state transportation department was made aware of the westbound highway’s poor condition long before the late 2023 closure. But it was her accusations of cronyism in McKee’s administration, including for former Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti, that drew the sharpest response from the usually mild-mannered McKee.

“We’re not just talking about the Washington Bridge, we’re talking about a culture here where a few guys at the top know what’s going on, and the rest of us are in the dark,” Foulkes said.

“Who are they?” McKee jumped in. 

He continued, “It is insulting when you start ridiculing staff that’s high-quality and is delivering for the people of Rhode Island.”

McKee kept talking as Foulkes responded, telling McKee “settle down there,” while noting “you were pretty hot there.”

NBA meets RI FC 

Acrimony resurfaced when the debate turned to Kawhi Leonard’s investment in the Tidewater Landing soccer stadium in Pawtucket. Leonard, a small forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, was revealed as one of the secret investors in the $137 million stadium project at the same time the NBA star was allegedly accepting illegal bonus payments from the team through a third-party endorsement deal meant to skirt the league’s salary cap, as first reported by WPRI-TV 12. 

As chair of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation board, McKee cast the tie-breaking vote in 2022 to authorize $27 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies for the project, putting the state on the hook for $116 million in bond repayments over the next three decades. 

Amid criticisms over lack of transparency, McKee maintains he had no idea about Leonard’s financial involvement in the soccer stadium, despite attending a Los Angeles Clippers game, where Leonard plays, during an October 2025 business trip to California, according to news reports. McKee sat next to Brett Johnson, founder of the Rhode Island FC team that plays out of Tidewater Landing, during the game.

Despite McKee’s insistence that he and Johnson never talked about Leonard’s investment in the soccer stadium during the game, adding that he bought the ticket on his own, Foulkes was unconvinced.

“To me, it really feels clear the governor has something to hide here,” she said. 

Her later remark, “it doesn’t make sense to me,” elicited another raised response from McKee.

“You’re calling me a liar? McKee asked Foulkes.

“I’d just like to see the receipts,” she responded.

A copy of McKee’s personal bank statement showing a $699.38 ticket reimbursement sent in February to the sports marketing agency 380AMK was provided to Rhode Island Current Monday afternoon. Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor and Commerce President Jim Bennett also attended the game and reimbursement AMK for the ticket costs, Andrea Palagi, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said in an emailed statement.

McKee also came after Bartholomew when he asked Foulkes what she would do if future investigations reveal a “scheme” in the soccer stadium financing. The Clippers remain under investigation by the NBA for allegedly circumventing the league’s salary cap rules while rewarding Leonard with a $28 million, four-year bonus via a marketing deal from a third-party environmental firm tied to the team owner. 

There is no evidence that the payment between the Clippers and Leonard is related to his investment in the Rhode Island soccer stadium project, which McKee was quick to point out.

“That’s a big jump Bill,” he said of Bartholomew’s question. “It’s speculation and innuendo that didn’t happen.

McKee accused Foulkes of “drumming up this whole conspiracy” to deflect against her own record. 

Back to CVS 

Foulkes worked for 25 years at CVS, including four years as head of its retail pharmacy arm from 2014 to 2018. That timespan falls within the decade of investigations by the Department of Justice, which culminated in a lawsuit unsealed in late 2024 in which it alleges that CVS worsened the opioid crisis by filling fake prescriptions. Foulkes’ campaign has repeatedly denied McKee’s allegations with equally general responses highlighting the pharmaceutical giant’s efforts to cut off pill mill doctors and participate in drug takeback programs. Several of these claims rely on inflated numbers by Foulkes’ campaign, or do not directly involve her, a Rhode Island Current investigation found.

McKee’s allegations also don’t appear to pass the smell test. The 97-page DOJ complaint never mentions Foulkes by name, nor do any of the other opioid-related lawsuits and settlements referenced by his campaign.

McKee also attacked Foulkes for past political donations to the political action committees for CVS and The Home Depot — where she formerly served as a board member. CVS gave $35,000 to the Trump Victory Fund in 2017, while Home Depot has donated to GOP candidates, and its late cofounder was a vocal Trump supporter. Foulkes drew the distinction between donating to company PACs versus direct donations to candidates herself.

“I’ve never given a dime to Donald Trump and the governor knows that,” she said. “It’s a whole bunch of lies.”

Fighting Trump is one commonality between the pair, who both pledged to protect Rhode Island from unlawful actions by federal immigration authorities while bolstering healthcare and social safety net programs faced with new restrictions under the Trump administration.

The ocean economy is also a shared priority, with McKee touting the work of his administration in luring new marine and biotechnology companies to the state while bolstering investments in education and research to support the local “blue economy.”

“My record on the economy is second-to-none in terms of job growth and raising incomes,” McKee said. “There was no life science hub before I showed up.”

Foulkes pointed to CNBC’s 2026 business rankings, which put Rhode Island 48th out of 50 states in overall business friendliness and dead last in infrastructure, as proof McKee’s efforts were not working. Yet she too emphasized growing the pool of state employers and jobs with an emphasis on education, including career and technical education programs.

Career and technical education has also been a focus of McKee’s administration, including in a $50 million bond proposal for career and technical secondary education included in his fiscal 2027 budget proposal. The borrowing proposal was scrapped by lawmakers in revising and approving a final spending plan. 

Foulkes, who after 25 years at CVS spent two years as CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company during a $1.1 billion deal to buy out public shareholders, deferred to voters on the question of business expertise.

“People can judge our backgrounds and decide who will be the best at helping businesses thrive,” she said. “I do know how to do it.”

WPRO only invited the Democratic candidates to participate in the debate. The race also features Republicans Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino, and independents Ken Block, Jay Gotra and C.D. Reynolds. 

Early voting begins Aug. 20 ahead of the Sept. 9 primary.