Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee faces tough challenge from Helena Foulkes in Democratic primary

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee is hoping to avoid becoming the first incumbent governor in any state to lose a primary since 2018 as he tries to fend off an intraparty challenge from former CVS executive Helena Foulkes in Wednesday’s state primary.

McKee narrowly defeated Foulkes in a multi-candidate Democratic primary four years ago to win his first full term. In their rematch, he’s been dogged by questions about his administration’s work to replace a critical bridge in the state capital that was abruptly closed due to safety problems in 2023.

Foulkes has leveraged public exasperation over the cost and pace of the bridge project for her argument that McKee’s administration isn’t working for most Rhode Islanders.

“People feel like state government just works with a powerful few,” she said. “They don’t think it’s working for them.”

McKee, in response, has characterized Foulkes as an out-of-touch elite who turned a blind eye to the opioid crisis during her tenure at CVS.

“The option here is somebody who wants to buy this state office who doesn’t have any credibility with their policy thoughts and someone like myself, who has a strong record in terms of working people,” McKee told The Associated Press.

Incumbent governors rarely lose party primaries. The last time it happened in Rhode Island was in 1994, when Democrat Bruce Sundlun lost to state Sen. Myrth York, ending his bid for a third term. In that race, Sundlun was facing multiple controversies and voter fatigue while York ran on reform.

McKee has been governor since 2021, when he stepped into the position after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo was tapped as U.S. commerce secretary.

In 2023, McKee closed the Washington Bridge, a vital link that carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River and connects Providence to its eastern suburbs, the south coast of Massachusetts. During the summer, it also carries traffic bound for Cape Cod.

State transportation officials had flagged a “critical failure” in an older part of the bridge, but demolishing and replacing it has taken longer than the governor initially estimated. Traffic continues to flow but has been squeezed into fewer lanes on a newer part of the span. This has led to lengthy commute times for many who cross the bridge daily as signs posted along the bridge thank drivers for their patience.

McKee maintains that his decisions kept people safe and that the bridge construction will be finished by 2028. He often points to Maryland, saying the Washington Bridge will be complete ahead of the replacement of Baltimore’s much larger Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed and killed six construction workers in 2024 after a container ship crashed into it.

Foulkes’ grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both Democratic U.S. senators in Connecticut. She worked at CVS for 25 years, eventually becoming president of the company’s pharmacy division between 2014 and 2018. She then became chief executive officer of the Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay Company before leaving that job in 2020.

When pressed on her time at CVS, Foulkes argued that CVS reduced its opioid dispersal by 40% when she was president of CVS’ pharmacy division. In 2022, after Foulkes had left CVS, the company agreed to pay $5 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids without admitting wrongdoing.

The last governor to lose in a primary was former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Kris Kobach in 2018.

In the Republican gubernatorial primary, Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino are vying for the nomination. Guckian is a state trade association executive and was the nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. He won the two-way primary that year with about 68% of the vote. Pelino is a former actor and first-time candidate. The state party has endorsed Guckian.

Notably, Rhode Island’s primary elections are being held on a Wednesday after state lawmakers moved the date from its typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.

Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.