Helena Foulkes has defeated Rhode Island’s incumbent governor, Dan McKee, in the Democratic primary, ending his bid for a second full term and delivering the party its biggest political upset in the state for decades.
The Associated Press projected Foulkes as the winner on Wednesday night, making Mr McKee the first sitting US governor to lose a party primary since 2018. The result also marks the first time since 1994 that a Rhode Island governor has been defeated while seeking renomination.
Foulkes, a former senior executive at CVS and Hudson’s Bay, had been defeated narrowly by Mr McKee in the 2022 Democratic primary. This time, she turned frustration over the state’s troubled Washington Bridge project into the central issue of her campaign.
The bridge, a vital route linking Providence with its eastern suburbs and southern Massachusetts, was closed in December 2023 after the discovery of broken anchor rods. The replacement project is now estimated to cost $427 million and is scheduled for completion in November 2028, after earlier deadlines and cost estimates were revised.
With about half the vote counted, Foulkes led Mr McKee by 62.3 per cent to 37.7 per cent. She is now the favourite to become governor in November, with Rhode Island having not elected a Republican statewide since 2006.
Speaking to supporters in Providence, Foulkes said: “Tonight, we may have won the Democratic primary for governor, but let me be clear about what happens next: You will have a governor for everyone.”
Mr McKee, who became governor in 2021 after serving as lieutenant governor, conceded the race and promised to work with his successor to ensure a smooth transition.
Foulkes has never held elected office, but comes from a prominent Democratic family. Her grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both US senators from Connecticut. She campaigned on housing, affordability and healthcare, including plans to expand homebuilding and raise Medicaid reimbursement rates.
