Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee loses Democratic primary to businesswoman Helena Foulkes

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has lost his Democratic primary to former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, NBC News projects, after having faced a significant spending disadvantage and voter discontent with his tenure. In an election season that has seen a wave of anti-incumbent energy, McKee, 75, becomes the first governor to fall in a primary this year — and the first in eight years. Public polling had shown McKee, who was running for a full second term, trailing by double digits heading into Tuesday. And Foulkes, 62, outspent him on the airwaves by 3-to-1, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. The primary was a rematch of 2022, when Foulkes narrowly lost to McKee, who had replaced Gov. Gina Raimondo after she was selected for President Joe Biden’s Cabinet in 2021. McKee’s 2023 decision to close the Washington Bridge, a commuter thoroughfare in Providence, hung over his campaign.