Washington Bridge Fallout Threatens Rhode Island Governor
Washington Bridge Fallout Threatens Rhode Island Governor
The News
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is fighting for his job in a Sept. 9 Democratic primary rematch against former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, with anger over the stalled Washington Bridge repair driving the race.
McKee, 75, closed the westbound side of the bridge in 2023 after state officials flagged a "critical failure" and told the public repairs would take several months. They have taken far longer, and costs have risen above initial estimates.
The winner of the primary in Democratic-leaning Rhode Island will be the heavy favorite in November, the Associated Press reported.
The Bridge
The Washington Bridge carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River from Providence to East Providence, and on toward southern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. Nearly 100,000 vehicles cross it every day — all now funneled onto the reconfigured eastbound side.
McKee says he kept people safe and that construction will be finished by 2028. He points to Baltimore, noting the Washington Bridge is due to be complete ahead of the replacement for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, set for 2030 after a container ship struck it in 2024, killing six construction workers.
Timeline
McKee narrowly wins the Democratic primary over Foulkes in a four-way field, 37,288 votes to 33,931 — 32.8 percent to 29.9 percent, according to official Rhode Island election results. On primary night, handed a phone with Foulkes calling to concede, McKee waved it away: "That's not going to happen. Hang up on them."
After state officials flag a "critical failure," McKee closes the westbound side of the Washington Bridge and announces repairs lasting several months.
Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses after a container ship strike, killing six construction workers; its replacement is set for 2030, the comparison McKee now invokes.
In a debate, Foulkes accuses McKee of driving business out of the state with his attacks on CVS.
Rhode Island's Democratic primary.
Reactions
Foulkes, 62, is running as the outsider. "I think that what I've really learned in the last four years, in a deeper way, is how much people feel like state government just works with a powerful few," she said in an interview. "They also hear the leader of the state saying 'everything's great' and they're saying, 'I really worry about a good paying job.'"
"It's a great moment to be an outsider," she said.
McKee has attacked Foulkes as a corporate executive trying to buy the office, and accused her of helping fuel the opioid crisis at CVS — an allegation she denies. "Who's the option here? It's a corporate person that the Democrats can't stand," he said. "She's shown evidence that she's put profits ahead of people over and over and over again."
Adam Myers, a political scientist at Providence College, said bridges are uniquely dangerous for incumbents. "In the case of a bridge, people know that state government is responsible for that," he said. "And so there appears to be a very clear place on which to put all the blame."
What's Next
Voters go to the polls Sept. 9. A loss would make McKee the first U.S. governor to lose a primary since 2018, and the first Rhode Island governor to lose one in more than 30 years.
The bridge itself is not scheduled to be finished until 2028, on McKee's own timeline.
More
Foulkes has outraised the incumbent and flooded the airwaves with ads. She spent 25 years at CVS, serving as president of its pharmacy division from 2014 to 2018, then ran Canadian retailer Hudson's Bay Company until 2020. Her grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both Democratic senators from Connecticut.
Asked about her CVS record, Foulkes says the company cut its opioid dispersal by 40 percent while she led the pharmacy division. In 2022, after she left, CVS agreed to pay $5 billion to settle opioid lawsuits nationwide without admitting wrongdoing.
McKee points to a long list of labor endorsements, though Rhode Island's Democratic Party and the state AFL-CIO both declined to endorse in the race. Foulkes counts supporters in Cumberland, McKee's hometown, where he once served as mayor.
Poll
Should a stalled bridge project cost a governor his job?
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