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Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee lost his Democratic gubernatorial primary Wednesday, becoming the first elected governor since 2014 and the first sitting governor since 2018 to not be re-nominated.
McKee was beat by former CVS executive Helena Foulkes in a rematch of the state’s 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary, which the incumbent narrowly won.
The governor’s downfall may have been the nearly three-year-long partial closure of the Washington Bridge, which spans the Seekonk River and connects Providence to its eastern suburbs and Massachusetts. During the summer, it is also a major artery for travelers heading to Cape Cod.
The pace of construction work on the critical bridge, which McKee ordered to be shut down over safety concerns in 2023, was a top issue in the race.
“The Washington Bridge was a disaster. I shut it down to keep us safe, secured federal funding and we’re on pace to complete the bridge ahead of schedule,” McKee argued in a campaign ad.
Meanwhile, Foulkes described the bridge project as “a poster child for mismanagement” under McKee, during a fiery debate last month.
Foulkes, whose grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, both represented Connecticut in the Senate as Democrats, 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 told the Associated Press. “They don’t think it’s working for them.”
McKee countered by suggesting Foulkes is an out-of-touch elite who turned a blind eye to the opioid crisis during her 25 years working for 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 outlet.
The governor’s approval rating was measured at a lowly 24% last month, according to a University of New Hampshire poll, which also showed Foulkes with a massive, 38 point lead in the primary race.
McKee is the first elected governor to lose a primary since Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat from Hawaii, lost his in 2014.
The last sitting governor to not be re-nominated was Jeff Colyer, a Republican from Kansas, who assumed office from the lieutenant governorship following Sam Brownback’s resignation only to lose his primary in 2018.
With Post wires
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