Two days after McKee, Foulkes fires back with twice-as-long campaign commercial

Helena Buonanno Foulkes will hit local airwaves Saturday with the first TV ad of her campaign.

The Friday morning announcement of the forthcoming 60-second spot, already available on YouTube, comes two days after Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign made its broadcast debut.

Foulkes’ campaign is spending just over $95,000 to air her commercial 359 times across all  three major local networks —  WPRI-TV, WJAR-TV and Coastal ABC — along with The CW, myRITV, and Fox affiliate WNAC, through June 8, according to filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 

McKee’s campaign spent more than $65,000 for its 30-second commercial, which will run 174 times across all three major local TV networks through June 7, according to filings with the Federal Communications Commission. Information on Foulkes’ campaign ad spending was not immediately available. 

Broadcast stations, cable operators and satellite TV and radio providers must publish files detailing cost and broadcast time for campaign ads within one business day of the station requested by the candidate, according to federal regulations.

The first campaign ad for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Buonanno Foulkes is double the length of her incumbent rival’s first ad. (Helena for RI)

Foulkes’ track record as former president of CVS Pharmacy features prominently in both her own campaign commercials as well as McKee’s. 

McKee’s campaign ad vilifies Foulkes for her decadelong leadership of the pharmacy giant, linking her to the 2017 merger between CVS and Aetna insurance after which the insurer reduced its coverage through the Affordable Care Act, along with Medicaid funding cuts and insulin price hikes. Narrated by a woman’s voice, McKee’s ad juxtaposes photos of himself and Foulkes, comparing their records on healthcare access and affordability. 

Foulkes addresses the audience directly in her own, twice-as-long ad, reframing her healthcare past favorably. She highlights CVS’ decision to stop selling tobacco products in 2014 — her first year as president of the retail pharmacy arm of the company — and efforts to address the opioid crisis by limiting prescriptions and cutting off “pill mill” doctors. 

Foulkes also mentions her plans around housing production, job training, and state bridge inspectors to prevent another Washington Bridge “fiasco” while promising to take on the Trump administration.

McKee is not mentioned nor depicted in her ad, which closes with a series of old family photos and a pledge to honor the recommendation given by her late mother to “take care of each other.” 

Foulkes lost to McKee by 3 percentage points in a four-way primary in 2022. But recent polling shows Foulkes with a commanding, double-digit lead over the incumbent governor in a hypothetical primary. Foulkes also leads McKee in fundraising, with more than twice as much cash on hand as of March 31, according to reports filed with the Rhode Island Board of Elections.

No other gubernatorial candidates have paid for ads on public broadcasting networks, though Republican Aaron Guckian placed a campaign ad on private cable network NESN on April 3, in conjunction with the first season home game for the Boston Red Sox. As a private cable network, NESN does not have to report its advertising spending to federal regulators. 

The gubernatorial primary is Sept. 9, with a Nov. 3 general election. Early voting begins Aug. 20. 

Reporter Christopher Shea contributed to this story.