On Sept. 9, Gov. Dan McKee became the first incumbent to lose a Rhode Island gubernatorial primary in more than 30 years. McKee didn’t lose by a slim margin, either — he suffered a 24-point defeat to challenger Helena Foulkes.
McKee secured his loss long before votes got counted on Sept. 9. His electoral failure can be traced back to December 2023, when the westbound Washington Bridge — an essential geographical link from East Providence to Providence — was found at imminent risk of collapse and quickly shut down. The reconstruction that followed has defined McKee’s last term. Data gathered before the Sept. 9 primary established a causal link between the bridge’s closure and McKee’s dismal political viability, with more than 79% of voters doubting the timeline and cost of the project. Throughout the primary, Foulkes capitalized on the salience of the crisis, framing the bridge as a representation of the dysfunction and lack of accountability plaguing McKee’s office.
Incumbent losses in gubernatorial primary races are rare — losses attributable to a hyperlocal infrastructure crisis are rarer. In this sense, McKee is an anomaly. However, interpreting McKee’s loss as an isolated political blowout would be a mistake — voters should view his shortcomings as a microcosm of Rhode Island’s broader infrastructure crisis…