Escalation: Helena Foulkes Defeats Dan Mckee in Primary

Helena Foulkes defeated Gov. Dan McKee in Rhode Island’s Democratic primary. It is the first time since 2018 that a sitting U.S. governor has lost a primary, and the first time in more than 30 years that a Rhode Island governor has been beaten in one.

Foulkes, a former CVS executive, centered her campaign on frustration over the partial shutdown of Providence’s Washington Bridge. The bridge’s westbound lanes closed in 2023 over collapse concerns, snarling traffic for tens of thousands of commuters, and completion is now expected in 2028. She lost to McKee in 2022; the rematch flips the result and makes her the Democratic nominee for November, ending McKee’s bid for a second full term.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources