Foulkes criticized McKee’s handling of Washington Bridge repairs
Helena Foulkes, a former longtime executive with Rhode Island-based retail pharmacy CVS, defeated Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee in the Democratic primary on Wednesday, The Guardian reported, citing the Associated Press. McKee became the first sitting governor to lose a primary in nearly a decade.
On the campaign trail, Foulkes criticized McKee’s handling of repair work on Providence’s Washington Bridge. The major east-west traffic artery carries roughly 100,000 vehicles per day.
Foulkes accused McKee of bungling the repairs, which have continued longer than originally planned. The Guardian characterized McKee’s defeat as driven by frustration over the bridge rather than an upset by a more progressive or younger challenger.
McKee closed the bridge in December 2023 after inspectors uncovered serious structural problems. By March 2024, officials had concluded that repairing the structure was not feasible and that the bridge would have to be rebuilt.
State officials initially estimated that the bridge would reopen to traffic this year. The project’s completion date has since been delayed to November 2028.
McKee assumed the governorship in 2021 after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo stepped down to become Joe Biden’s U.S. commerce secretary. McKee then easily won the 2022 general election.
The primary revisited a contest from four years earlier, when Foulkes finished a close second behind McKee in a five-way race. Foulkes is the niece of former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
The Guardian contrasted the Rhode Island contest with other Democratic incumbent defeats during the cycle. The newspaper described those defeats as part of anti-establishment anger that elevated young and progressive challengers, but said the Rhode Island contest was different.
Election prognosticators rate the Rhode Island governorship as strongly Democratic. Foulkes is therefore seen as having a major advantage in November’s general election.