Foulkes Ousts McKee in Rhode Island Primary
Foulkes Ousts McKee in Rhode Island Primary
The News
Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in Wednesday's Democratic primary, ending his bid for a full second term over voter fury at a closed Providence bridge.
CNN's Decision Desk and NBC News both projected the result Wednesday night.
McKee, 75, becomes the first sitting governor of either party to lose a primary in eight years, according to NBC News. MSNBC reported he is the first Rhode Island governor to lose a primary in more than 30 years.
Foulkes, 62, now heads to a general election in a state Kamala Harris carried by nearly 14 points in 2024 and that has not elected a Republican governor since 2010.
Timeline
McKee, then lieutenant governor, is elevated to the top job after President Joe Biden picks Gov. Gina Raimondo as commerce secretary.
McKee beats Foulkes in a crowded primary, taking just under a third of the vote as she finishes a few thousand votes behind.
State engineers find structural failures on the Washington Bridge, which carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River. McKee and transit officials order an emergency shutdown of the westbound lanes used by tens of thousands of daily commuters.
A forensic audit McKee had delayed for more than a year faults both former contractors and successive state administrations, drawing blowback in the legislature.
A highway on-ramp collapse in Cranston worsens the state's traffic problems.
A University of New Hampshire poll finds 80% of Rhode Islanders disapprove of McKee's job performance, with transportation and infrastructure the most-cited reason. An Emerson College poll finds 63% disapprove of his handling of the bridge specifically, against 18% who approve.
Foulkes wins the nomination.
Foulkes outspent McKee on the airwaves by a 3-to-1 margin, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Public polling had McKee trailing by double digits going into the vote.
The Numbers
Reactions
"I'm not running just on the Washington Bridge," Foulkes told local broadcaster WJAR earlier this year. "I'm running because I love this state. I want people who are here to be able to afford to live here, to get a great paying job, to make state government really work for them."
At a debate last month she called the state's infrastructure "the poster child for mismanagement," adding: "We have the worst roads and bridges in the country."
McKee defended the shutdown at the same debate: "We kept people safe. It's been a pain in the ass for everybody. I haven't denied that. But the alternative would've been far worse."
The exchange turned personal. "You keep on disparaging the state of Rhode Island every single chance you get," McKee said. "You're not a cheerleader for this state." Foulkes answered: "I am certainly not disparaging the state of Rhode Island, I'm disparaging its governor." McKee shot back, "I am the State of Rhode Island!"
Maureen Moakley, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Rhode Island, told CNN the bridge "has been just a millstone around McKee's neck. It wasn't his fault. It just happened, and you know anybody that got stuck with that already had a problem."
Democratic strategist Mike Raia, a Foulkes supporter who worked for Raimondo, said the race showed "competency does matter." Foulkes campaign consultant Eric Hyers put it this way: "This time the resistance is effective governance and governing well."
What's Next
Foulkes is the heavy favorite in November, though third-party candidate Ken Block is a wildcard, CNN reported.
Whoever wins inherits the bridge. The old westbound span has been demolished and a replacement is under construction; McKee's administration said over the summer it expects completion by November 2028.
The state is also suing former contractors, alleging negligence, over the original structure.
More
The two Democrats were not far apart ideologically — both offered a mainstream liberal platform, which set this race apart from the generational and ideological brawls that defined other 2026 Democratic primaries.
McKee tried to tie Foulkes to the opioid crisis through her CVS tenure, seizing on a 2024 federal lawsuit against the company that named no individuals. "On Helena Foulkes' watch, CVS put profits over safety," one of his ads said. Foulkes responded in her first TV ad that she "tackled the opioid crisis head on, cutting off pill mill doctors, limiting the number of pills, and overseeing an almost 40% reduction in opioid prescriptions." CVS has denied wrongdoing.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a longtime friend of Foulkes' mother, campaigned with her in the final stretch. "She is really a great messenger, advocate, leader, and courageous one," Pelosi told reporters.
The anti-incumbent wave is broader than one state: 11 House members and two senators have lost primaries in 2026, NBC News reported. The last sitting governor to lose a primary was Kansas Republican Jeff Colyer in 2018; the last Democratic governor to fall was Hawaii's Neil Abercrombie in 2014.
Poll
What sank Dan McKee?
Colleges Condemn Students Mocking Kirk Assassination Anniversary
Charleston White Arrested Again on Florida Battery Charge
Sep 13, 2026
Border Patrol Rescues MS NOW Crew in Desert
Sep 13, 2026
Supreme Court Restores Missouri's Old House Map
Sep 13, 2026
Alaska Drops Felony Voter Charges Against Samoans
Sep 13, 2026
Trespasser Breaches Harris' Malibu Estate; No Arrest
Sep 12, 2026
Hegseth Pressed Downed Airmen Into 60 Minutes
Sep 12, 2026
Houthis Seize Mokha, Choking Saudi Oil Exports
Sep 12, 2026
Altman Rules Out OpenAI IPO This Year
Sep 12, 2026
Jury Acquits Lil Durk in Murder-for-Hire Case
Sep 12, 2026
Judge: Trump Broke Law Halving FEMA Staff
Sep 12, 2026
Maher Calls Democrats' Gaza Genocide Claim a Lie
Sep 12, 2026
Blizzard Revives StarCraft, Sends Diablo to Netflix
Sep 12, 2026
Trump's Queens Childhood Home Sells for $1.93M
Sep 12, 2026
Scientists Find New Virus in Tick Invading US
Sep 12, 2026
Britain Bans Settlement Imports; US States Threaten Payback
Sep 12, 2026
Prison Fire Kills 7 as Kurds Protest Killing
Sep 12, 2026
Kosovo Rallies for Ex-President Before Hague Verdict
Sep 12, 2026
Cruz Booed at GameDay Over College Sports Bill
Sep 12, 2026
Blast Hits Bulgarian Arms Plant Supplying Ukraine
Sep 12, 2026
Sep 13, 2026