Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has lost his bid for a second full term, defeated by businesswoman Helena Foulkes in Wednesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. The loss makes McKee the first sitting governor in the country to lose a primary since 2018, when Kansas Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer was defeated by Kris Kobach.
Foulkes, a former CVS Health executive and current Costco board member, beat McKee in a rematch of their tight 2022 primary, when McKee won by just a few percentage points. This time, Foulkes came out on top.
McKee became governor in 2021 after Gina Raimondo left the office to become Commerce Secretary under President Biden. Before that, McKee served as Cumberland’s mayor and two terms as lieutenant governor. He won a full term in 2022 after narrowly beating out a crowded Democratic field that included Foulkes.
Foulkes has spent most of her career in the private sector. In addition to her time as a senior executive at CVS Health, which is based in Rhode Island, she later became CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company and now serves on Costco’s board of directors. Wednesday’s primary was her second run for elected office, after finishing second to McKee in 2022.
A Campaign Fought Over Records
The primary largely turned into a debate over each candidate’s leadership record. Foulkes criticized McKee’s handling of state government, pointing in particular to the Washington Bridge, which was closed abruptly in December 2023 over structural concerns and remains under reconstruction.
McKee, in turn, defended his time in office and went after Foulkes’ background at CVS, casting her as a corporate executive out of touch with everyday Rhode Islanders and criticizing the company’s role in the opioid crisis during her tenure.
Foulkes now moves on to the November general election as the favorite. She’ll face the winner of the Republican primary, a contest between Aaron Guckian, the GOP’s 2022 nominee for lieutenant governor, and retired business executive Elaine Pelino.
