Foulkes wins Democratic gubernatorial primary, marking historic loss for McKee

Gov. Dan McKee won’t be in office to see through his promised “day of reckoning” over the Washington Bridge closure, after losing his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Helena Buonanno Foulkes on Wednesday, according to preliminary, unofficial results. 

Foulkes had 62% of votes, compared with McKee’s 38%, with more than half of votes reported as of 8:20 p.m. The Associated Press called the race for Foulkes.

The upset marks the first time in Rhode Island a Democratic incumbent governor has lost a reelection bid in the primary since 1994, and the first nationwide since 2018. But, it’s hardly a surprise. After losing to McKee by three percentage points in a four-way 2022 primary, Foulkes mounted a formidable comeback this year, maintaining a commanding lead in public polling, a sizable campaign cash advantage and a laundry list of endorsements from local party officials.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters gathered on the rain-soaked lawn outside Track 15 in Providence Wednesday night, Foulkes touted a message of unity and a vision for a better Rhode Island. Despite her repeated attacks on McKee during the campaign, she thanked the governor for a “gracious” concession call, praising his love for his home state.

“This is so much fun,” she said of her campaign, outlining her vision for a more affordable and accessible state following the Nov. 3 general election. “You will have a governor for everyone.”

Foulkes declined to take questions from reporters following her speech Wednesday, though her campaign has scheduled media availability for Thursday morning.

Change was the common refrain of Foulkes’ campaign. A former CVS executive who never held elected office — or even ran for one before 2022 — the 62-year-old Providence resident presented herself as an alternative to a status quo she characterized as ineffective. The late 2023 closure of the Washington Bridge offered a cornerstone for her argument against what she termed McKee’s “incompetence.”

The 75-year-old incumbent governor’s favorability plunged, and never recovered, after the westbound highway abruptly shut down, with voters across party lines dissatisfied with the lack of communication and transparency on the bridge’s existing condition along with the rising cost to rebuild it. Congestion continues to frustrate drivers, too, with a broken down concrete truck tying up traffic on the eastbound bridge — serving both directions in the interim — for part of Tuesday morning. 

McKee’s campaign fended off criticism by turning the spotlight back on Foulkes, reprising attacks made in the 2022 gubernatorial primary cycle about her role in the opioid crisis as former president of CVS Pharmacy.

Personal feuding overshadowed the campaign, though the rivals are not far apart on policy. Both supported a millionaire’s tax, while putting affordable housing, economic development and protecting Rhode Island from the Trump administration at the forefront of their campaigns. 

Representing either end of the baby boomer generation, neither candidate offered an obvious ideological fit with the younger, progressive contingent of Rhode Island voters. However, public polling showed younger and more progressive voters favoring Foulkes, while McKee’s support skewed toward older, blue-collar voters.

Seeking to tap into his labor base, which included both state teachers unions, McKee framed himself as a man of the people shaped by his early life in the Cumberland clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs, which his late father helped to start. McKee’s political ascent began as a Cumberland Town Council member in 1992, later rising to mayor. He was elected lieutenant governor in 2014, filling the governor’s seat after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo was tapped as U.S. Commerce Secretary in March 2021.

Yet, his roots were not strong enough to win the endorsement of the Cumberland Democratic Town Committee, nor Town Mayor Jeff Mutter, who both backed Foulkes. McKee also failed to win the endorsement of the Rhode Island Democratic Party and the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, which both did not back either candidate — a rare move when an incumbent is on the ballot.

As Foulkes supporters celebrated her win Wednesday night, a more somber scene unfolded a mile and a half west at Maria’s Cucina on Federal Hill, where McKee supporters gathered for a results watch party. 

But when McKee, who infamously told a campaign staffer four years ago to hang up when Foulkes called to concede, made his own concession call to Foulkes on Wednesday night, she took the call.

McKee’s campaign did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment Wednesday night.

Foulkes will face the Republican primary victor, and three independent candidates — Ken Block, Jay Gotra and C.D. Reynolds — in the Nov. 3 general election.

Secretary of State Gregg Amore and General James Diossa, both unopposed in the primary, also notched wins Wednesday night. Diossa now faces Republican challenger Micholas Credle in the general election, while Amore has no opponents. 

Results are preliminary and unofficial, with mail ballots, including those by military and overseas voters, still being counted and certified by the Rhode Island Board of Elections through next week.