Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes will win the Democratic nomination for governor of Rhode Island, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, defeating incumbent Gov. Dan McKee as she capitalized on voter frustration over the partial closure of a key bridge and the ensuing traffic chaos.
Used by tens of thousands of commuters daily, the westbound lanes of the Washington Bridge in Providence closed in 2023 amid concerns of collapse. While McKee, who was first elevated from lieutenant governor to the top job in 2021, has defended the decision, the lengthy repair became a political liability as he sought a second elected term.
Four years after narrowly losing in her first primary showdown, Foulkes rode the wave of anti-establishment sentiment sweeping through the Democratic Party and McKee’s deep unpopularity in the state to the rare primary defeat of an incumbent governor.
“I’m not running just on the Washington Bridge,” Foulkes told local broadcaster WJAR earlier this year. “I’m running because I love this state. I want people who are here to be able to afford to live here, to get a great paying job, to make state government really work for them.”
In a year that has seen discontented voters oust several veteran Democrats in House contests, Wednesday’s election marked the first casualty in a governor’s race. McKee is the first incumbent from either party to lose a gubernatorial primary in eight years.
