A Dem Governor May Go Down Today

A Democratic governor is facing steep odds in a blue-state primary — but not for the same reasons that have felled other incumbents this year.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee’s sagging popularity has opened him up to a strong primary challenge from former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, who he beat in a multi-candidate 2022 primary. And while multiple other Democrats were ousted this year by far younger and much more progressive challengers, the 75-year-old McKee’s biggest vulnerability comes from Foulkes’ attacks on a more mundane, if visceral issue: the state’s struggling infrastructure.

The McKee administration’s botched oversight of repairs to a major Providence bridge that tens of thousands of drivers use each day has soured voters on his tenure, making him one of the least popular governors in the country. A University of New Hampshire poll released in August found his approval rating at 24 percent among Democrats, and showed Foulkes with a massive lead in the primary over McKee, 56 percent to 18 percent.

“There's a slice of the electorate here that does see this older-looking white guy who has a cranky side, and they're like, ‘Yeah, it is time for a change,’” said Rhode Island-based Democratic strategist Kate Coyne-McCoy, who is not working with either campaign. “But this is really all about that bridge.”

Incumbent governors rarely lose primaries. But the possibility follows an anti-incumbent tide that has roiled the Democratic Party throughout the year. Democratic voters ousted longtime incumbent Rep. John Larson in Connecticut last month, following the defeats of Reps. Al Green in Texas, Adriano Espaillat in New York and Diana DeGette in Colorado by much younger opponents.

Foulkes, 62, bears little resemblance to the insurgent challengers in other states, however. She and McKee are both baby boomers who hew toward the center-left. She’s also the scion of a political dynasty — her grandfather, Thomas J. Dodd, and her uncle, Chris Dodd, were both senators from Connecticut. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi campaigned with Foulkes late last month; the California Democrat was longtime friends with Foulkes’ late mother.

McKee campaign spokesperson Sophie Mestas defended the governor’s handling of the bridge repairs while accusing Foulkes of “fueling the opioid crisis” during her tenure at CVS and attacking her for making a campaign contribution to GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014.

"When engineers told Governor McKee the Washington Bridge wasn't safe, he made the right call to shut it down, protect lives, and build it right. No shortcuts, no politics,” Mestas said in a statement.

In a statement, Foulkes campaign spokesperson Angelika Pellegrino said “The Washington Bridge is a glaring example of government failing people; voters should be able to expect their elected officials to make things work and to be accountable.”

McKee’s partial closure of the Washington Bridge for critical repairs has choked a vital transportation route through the state’s largest city for years. The bridge carries Interstate 195 across the Seekonk River, and transports over 70,000 vehicles each day. McKee announced the project in 2023, forecasting the project would be completed by this summer. But McKee announced last summer that the project would cost an additional $59 million and wouldn’t be completed until 2028, as it faced significant delays amid infighting between state officials and contractors.

The delays and rising costs have added to voters’ frustration with McKee, fueled by irritation at the digital construction signs along the construction route thanking drivers for their patience, said Patrick Crowley, Rhode Island AFL-CIO president. His organization has not endorsed in the race.

“The bridge is the big issue, but it's also how he's handled the bridge problem that many Rhode Islanders are seeing as indicative of an administration that sometimes just couldn't get out of its own way,” Crowley said.

McKee’s mishandling of the bridge project, combined with growing concerns about affordable housing around the state, have dragged down his approval rating for years.

“He’s had some bumps in the road along the way and I think people just want a change,” said former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr., a Democrat who is backing Foulkes. “He’s just not a dynamic person. He’s a nice person, but he’s not very dynamic.”

Foulkes has outspent McKee by $3.4 million to $1.1 million on ads, many of them focused on the bridge, per ad tracking firm AdImpact. One ad claims that under McKee, Rhode Island has “the worst roads and bridges” in the country. Another ad blames McKee for the state having “the nation’s worst economy” and its “worst roads.”

McKee has been unapologetic about his handling of the bridge despite the building irritation from Rhode Island voters.

“I know there is a lot of frustration, and I accept it,” he told The New York Times in August. “But in the end, people are going to realize we did the right thing.”

McKee has passed up opportunities to shift blame onto past governors for inheriting the bridge in a poor state, including his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, who elevated him from his lieutenant governor seat when she joined former president Joe Biden’s administration. When asked about Raimondo’s role in the bridge falling into disrepair, McKee told WPRO Radio “I’m not a look-backward kind of guy.”

In the end, that may have cost him.

“People were looking for someone to blame,” Crowley said. “In the absence of having anyone else to blame, and in the absence of the governor blaming anyone else, the blame fell on his shoulders.”