Helena Foulkes ousts Rhode Island governor Dan McKee in Democratic primary

Helena Foulkes has defeated Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee in the states Democratic primary ending his bid for a second full term McKees defeat marks the first time in more than 30 years that a sitting Rhode Island governor has been beaten in a primary He is the first governor in any US state to lose a party primary since 2018Foulkes a former senior executive at CVS and the retailer Hudsons Bay narrowly lost to McKee in a more crowded primary field in 2022 when the governor notably refused to take her concession call In their rematch McKee has been dogged by questions about his administrations work to replace a critical bridge in the state capital that was abruptly closed due to safety problems in 2023Foulkes has leveraged public exasperation over the cost and pace of the bridge project for her argument that McKees administration isnt working for most Rhode Islanders People feel like the state government just works with a powerful few she said They dont think its working for themMcKee in response characterised Foulkes as an outoftouch elite who turned a blind eye to the opioid crisis during her tenure at CVS The option here is somebody who wants to buy this state office who doesnt have any credibility with their policy thoughts and someone like myself who has a strong record in terms of working people McKee told The Associated PressIncumbent governors rarely lose party primaries The last time it happened in Rhode Island was in 1994 when Democrat Bruce Sundlun lost to state Sen Myrth York ending his bid for a third term In that race Sundlun was facing multiple controversies and voter fatigue while York ran on reformMcKee has been governor since 2021 when he stepped into the position after thenGovernor Gina Raimondo was tapped as US commerce secretary In 2023 McKee closed the Washington Bridge a vital link that carries Interstate 195 over the Seekonk River and connects Providence to its eastern suburbs the south coast of Massachusetts During the summer it also carries traffic bound for Cape CodState transportation officials had flagged a critical failure in an older part of the bridge but demolishing and replacing it has taken longer than the governor initially estimated Traffic continues to flow but has been squeezed into fewer lanes on a newer part of the span This has led to lengthy commute times for many who cross the bridge daily as signs posted along the bridge thank drivers for their patienceMcKee maintains that his decisions kept people safe and that the bridge construction will be finished by 2028 He often points to Maryland saying the Washington Bridge will be complete ahead of the replacement of Baltimores much larger Francis Scott Key Bridge which collapsed and killed six construction workers in 2024 after a container ship crashed into itFoulkes grandfather and uncle Thomas and Chris Dodd were both Democratic US senators in Connecticut She worked at CVS for 25 years eventually becoming president of the companys pharmacy division between 2014 and 2018 She then became chief executive officer of the Canadian retail giant Hudsons Bay Company before leaving that job in 2020When pressed on her time at CVS Foulkes argued that CVS reduced its opioid dispensing by 40 per cent when she was president of CVS pharmacy division In 2022 after Foulkes had left CVS the company agreed to pay USD 5 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids without admitting wrongdoingThe last governor to lose in a primary was former Kansas governor Jeff Colyer who narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Kris Kobach in 2018 In the Republican gubernatorial primary Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino are vying for the nominationGuckian is a state trade association executive and was the nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022 He won the twoway primary that year with about 68 per cent of the vote Pelino is a former actor and firsttime candidate The state party has endorsed GuckianNotably Rhode Islands primary elections are being held on a Wednesday after state lawmakers moved the date from its typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labour Day Only four states hold their primary elections in September Rhode Island Massachusetts New Hampshire and Delaware which has the latest primary date in the US taking place this year on September 15This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever