Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District: 2026 House Race

Rhode Island voters went to the polls Wednesday in primaries for governor and other federal, state and local offices. Gov. Dan McKee, who ascended to office in 2021 and won a full term in 2022, faces a tough Democratic challenge from Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a former CVS executive who finished a close second in the 2022 primary. Foulkes has outraised and outspent McKee and has led him in independent polling throughout the year, though many voters remained undecided heading into the vote. A loss would make McKee the first elected Rhode Island governor to lose renomination since 1994.

The race has centered on McKee's handling of the Washington Bridge closure and reconstruction, now delayed until 2028, and a 2024 investigation finding he improperly intervened in a state contract award, though no laws were found broken. McKee has attacked Foulkes over CVS's alleged role in the opioid crisis. In the Republican primary, party-endorsed Aaron Guckian faces Elaine Pelino. Rhode Island hasn't elected a Republican governor in 20 years.

Rhode Island voters headed to the polls to decide primary contests that will shape the state's general election ballot in November. The marquee race is the Democratic gubernatorial primary, where incumbent Dan McKee faced challenger Helena Foulkes, who had been leading in pre-election polling. Republicans chose between Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino for their nomination.

Other significant contests included the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, where Sabina Matos faced four challengers, and the race to succeed term-limited Attorney General Peter Neronha, with four Democrats competing for the nomination. In Providence, Mayor Brett Smiley faced a primary challenge from state Rep. David Morales, a notable test since no sitting Providence mayor has ever lost a primary; a recent poll suggested a close contest. Pawtucket and Woonsocket also held mayoral primaries, alongside various congressional and General Assembly races. Nearly 49,000 voters had already cast ballots early or by mail ahead of polling day. Primary winners advance to the November 3 general election.

Candidates in Rhode Island's 2026 governor's race have spent about $9.9 million combined, making it the cheapest contest in inflation-adjusted terms since 2006 and well below the $14.8–$22.2 million range of the last three cycles. Democratic nominee Helena Foulkes accounts for roughly 69% of that spending at about $6.8 million, followed by Gov. Dan McKee, who lost the September primary to her, at nearly $2.6 million. Independent Ken Block and Republican nominee Aaron Guckian have spent far less. Analysts attribute the drop-off to a thin post-primary field, though outside spending by parties and unions is filling some of the gap and rising media costs continue to push overall campaign costs higher.

The three leading candidates for Rhode Island governor — Democrat Helena Foulkes, Republican Aaron Guckian and independent Ken Block — met for a televised debate hosted by 12 News at Rhode Island College, two weeks ahead of the November 3 election. The debate, moderated by Target 12's Tim White and Ted Nesi, was the candidates' last major face-off before voting ends. It followed a 12 News/Emerson College poll showing Foulkes leading with 44% support, Block gaining ground at 35%, and Guckian trailing at 10%, with undecided voters expected to split among the three. Independents Jay Gotra and C Reynolds also appear on the ballot. Early voting began October 14.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee faces a primary rematch against Helena Foulkes, a former CVS Health executive, in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary. Foulkes has outraised McKee and outspent him on advertising, and polling suggests a competitive race four years after McKee narrowly won their first matchup. A loss would make McKee the first sitting Rhode Island governor to lose a primary in more than three decades.

The campaign has been shadowed by the prolonged, over-budget repair of Providence's Washington Bridge, a major artery connecting Rhode Island to Massachusetts and Cape Cod, which McKee partially closed in 2023 and has pledged to finish by 2028. Foulkes has used the bridge saga to question his leadership, while McKee has attacked her CVS tenure, linking her to the opioid crisis, a charge she disputes. Because Rhode Island leans heavily Democratic, the primary winner is considered the strong favorite in the general election.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee lost Wednesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary to former CVS and Hudson's Bay Company executive Helena Foulkes, who won decisively 62.4% to 37.6%, four years after narrowly beating her in a multi-candidate race. McKee, governor since 2021, had faced sustained criticism over his handling of the Washington Bridge closure, a critical Interstate 195 span shut down in 2023 over safety concerns whose replacement has run behind schedule; McKee said construction would finish by 2028, but Foulkes called the project "a poster child for mismanagement." Foulkes has focused her campaign on affordability, pledging to build 20,000 new homes, enact a tenant's bill of rights, and push for a gubernatorial line-item veto. McKee had attacked her record on opioids during her 25-year CVS career, but Foulkes maintained opioid dispersal fell 40% under her leadership. Foulkes is heavily favored in November's general election in the deeply blue state.

McKee is the first elected governor to lose a primary since Hawaii's Neil Abercrombie in 2014, and the first sitting governor overall not renominated since Kansas's Jeff Colyer in 2018. On the Republican side, party-backed Aaron Guckian held a narrow lead over Elaine Pelino, a Trump-aligned former actress, in a race too close to call. Sen. Jack Reed easily won his Democratic primary and will face Republican Raymond McKay in November.

Elizabeth Beretta-Perik has resigned as chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party, effective immediately, following the federal indictment of her husband, Michael Perik, on fraud and racketeering charges. Beretta-Perik, who had led the party since 2023, notified the executive committee by email.

Prosecutors allege Perik, through four for-profit entities, diverted roughly $20 million in federal financial aid and state subsidies from Eastern Gateway Community College in Ohio between 2017 and early 2022, including disbursing aid to ineligible students and falsifying records, contributing to the school's 2024 closure. Perik's attorney denies wrongdoing, calling the case "purely political payback" and citing prior reviews by Ohio and federal authorities that found no issues.

Michael Perik, husband of Rhode Island Democratic Party Chair Liz Beretta-Perik, has been indicted on 12 felony counts tied to a racketeering scheme that allegedly siphoned $20 million in federal financial aid and state subsidies from the now-closed Eastern Gateway Community College in Ohio. Prosecutors say Perik and two co-defendants used for-profit companies to control enrollment and financial aid, disbursing funds to ineligible students and bribing officials between 2017 and 2022, a period when enrollment ballooned from roughly 8,500 to over 60,000 students, mostly online and out-of-state. Perik's attorney calls the case political retribution. Beretta-Perik has not been charged; Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes has called for her to step aside.

Rhode Island state Rep. Julie Casimiro, a North Kingstown Democrat who has represented House District 31 since 2017, is facing calls to resign after moving to South Carolina before her term expires in January. Casimiro, who announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election, says she is continuing to serve constituents remotely and collecting her legislative pay, arguing that resigning would leave the district without representation since no special election could be held this late in the cycle.

House Speaker Chris Blazejewski and gubernatorial frontrunner Helena Foulkes, whom Casimiro has endorsed, both say she should step down, citing legal questions about her eligibility since Rhode Island's Constitution requires officeholders to be qualified electors in their district. Rep. Jason Knight has called for outright resignation. Common Cause Rhode Island notes there is no clear enforcement mechanism short of the House voting to expel her, leaving the dispute largely unresolved.

Chief Judge John McConnell granted summary judgment for Providence City Councilman Miguel Sanchez, ruling that Gov. Dan McKee's top aides, Chief of Staff Antonio Afonso and Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Almond, violated Sanchez's First Amendment rights by firing him from a constituent-services role in 2023 over social media posts criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire. McConnell found Sanchez spoke as a private citizen, his firing drew far more public and media attention than the posts themselves, and other staffers who posted dissenting views were not disciplined. McKee's office disagrees with the ruling and is reviewing its options; a trial on damages remains ahead. Sanchez, soon to be City Council president, called it a free speech victory.