Sitting governors almost never lose primaries. Dan McKee is at risk of doing exactly that on Wednesday, when Rhode Island Democrats decide whether to give him another term.
McKee became governor in 2021, elevated from lieutenant governor when Gina Raimondo left to join the Biden administration. He narrowly won the Democratic primary on his own in 2022 in a five-person race that also included challenger Helena Foulkes. Foulkes is back for a rematch and appears well positioned to win — in large part by using McKee’s incumbency against him.
In a state this heavily Democratic, whoever wins is the heavy favorite in November.
Foulkes comes from a business background: She’s worked as a Costco board member and is a former president of CVS Pharmacy. McKee’s campaign has tried to use that business record against her. She, in turn, has hammered his economic stewardship, arguing that Rhode Island is in a rough position, especially on infrastructure and housing — a message pitched against a backdrop of economic anxiety.
If McKee loses, he would be the first incumbent governor since 2018 to be denied his party’s nomination. That year, Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer — who, like McKee, had been elevated from lieutenant governor after his predecessor left to join an administration in Washington — lost the Republican primary to Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who was backed by President Donald Trump, by fewer than 400 votes.
Congress has already had a brutal year for incumbents: 13 members of the House and Senate between both parties have lost primaries in 2026.
Governors are harder to dislodge. Their races turn on what state government actually runs — schools, healthcare, roads, the local economy — which keeps the fights intensely local. That is where McKee and Foulkes have fought, with one telling wrinkle: The challenger has outraised the incumbent, according to state campaign finance filings.
During a primary debate last month, McKee accused Foulkes of “disparaging the state of Rhode Island” and cast himself as a job creator.
“I’m certainly not disparaging the state of Rhode Island,” Foulkes replied. “I’m disparaging its governor.”
McKee countered back: “I am the state of Rhode Island.”
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