Rhode Island governor trails challenger in new Democratic primary poll

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) is trailing his challenger Helena Foulkes ahead of the upcoming Democratic gubernatorial primary, according to a new poll.

The survey from Emerson College Polling and Nexstar affiliate WPRI-TV 12 shows Foulkes with a 15-point lead over the incumbent. The former CVS health official garnered 45 percent support to McKee’s 30 percent. Another 25 percent of respondents were undecided.

“Governor McKee has a base among primary voters without a college degree (61 percent) and union members (40 percent), but not enough at this point to overtake Foulkes’ plurality support among voters over 50, at 48 percent,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

McKee, who is 75 years old , recently endorsed a new policy called the “Rule of 90,” which would allow individuals older than 60 to receive full retirement benefits if they’ve completed 30 years of government service.

The governor says if he’s reelected, he will include the policy in his 2028 fiscal budget, according to the Rhode Island Current .

Meanwhile, Foulkes has embraced affordability messaging with a plan to pour $100 million into career and technical education facilities across the state if elected. The ex-health executive also plans to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates, ease COVID-19 restrictions for healthcare providers and expedite licenses for providers.

“In my 25-year career at CVS, I learned firsthand just how difficult it is for most Americans to navigate our broken healthcare system,” she said in a statement on her website . “But I also learned that by focusing on people’s needs, we can save money, improve health outcomes, and save lives.”

“For example, under my leadership we implemented a program to ensure that every CVS customer could access the lowest price for the prescriptions, even if it wasn’t through their insurance,” Foulkes continued. “The insurance companies didn’t like it one bit, but it was the right thing to do.”

While Foulkes is leading in the August poll, McKee has earned more support since the last survey in May. Support for the incumbent increased by 10 percentage points, compared with a 5 percent change for his challenger.

The Emerson College Polling/WPRI-TV 12 survey of likely Rhode Island voters was conducted from Aug. 21-22. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.