Rhode Island's McKee Trails Helena Foulkes by 20 Points as Bridge Crisis Fuels Backlash
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Aug 8
Rhode Island's McKee Trails Helena Foulkes by 20 Points as Bridge Crisis Fuels Backlash
2 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 8
Summary
A month before Rhode Island’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, Gov. Dan McKee is running 20 points behind Helena Foulkes, putting him at risk of becoming the first sitting U.S. governor to lose a primary in eight years.
The Washington Bridge mess is dominating the race: voters still blame McKee for traffic and economic disruption that began after 2023 safety concerns, while high electric rates and poor housing affordability deepen anti-incumbent anger.
Foulkes, a former CVS executive who narrowly lost to McKee in 2022, is pitching urgency and change, including a plan to fund 20,000 new housing units with a millionaires tax.
McKee is countering with his record on jobs, energy, education and housing, and leaning on labor support, though the state Democratic Party and Rhode Island AFL-CIO declined to endorse.
A McKee-allied poll showed Foulkes ahead by 6 points, but the race has become a test of whether union backing can overcome a broader post-pandemic backlash against incumbents.