pbs.org · September 8, 2026
Live Results: Rhode Island midterm primaries | PBS News [PBS](https://www.pbs.org) Donate [Change your local station](javascript:void(0)) [ Explore More from My Station ](https://www.pbs.org/my-station/) ## MORE FROM * [Live TV](https://www.pbs.org/livestream/) * [PBS Shows](https://www.pbs.org/shows/) * [My Station](https://www.pbs.org/my-station/) * [My List](https://www.pbs.org/my-list/shows/) * [ Shop](https://shop.pbs.org) * [Donate](https://donate.witf.org/witf/donate-evolvsms) Choose station ## PBS IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY helps your community explore new worlds and ideas through programs that educate, inform and inspire. Your tax-deductible donation helps make it all possible. Donate Visit Official Site [Change your local station](javascript:void(0)) [ Explore More from My Station ](https://www.pbs.org/my-station/) ## MORE FROM Sign in Sign in to keep track of what you watch, save appearance settings, and access your station Passport benefits. or search all of PBS * [Live TV](https://www.pbs.org/livestream/) * [PBS Shows](https://www.pbs.org/shows/) * [My Station](https://www.pbs.org/my-station/) * [My List](https://www.pbs.org/my-list/shows/) * [Shop](https://shop.pbs.org) * [Donate](https://donate.witf.org/witf/donate-evolvsms) * Sign in [ PBS News ](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/)  [ Leave your feedback ](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/contact-us/) Share * Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-results-rhode-island-midterm-primaries * [ Email ](<mailto:?subject=Live Results: Rhode Island midterm primaries&body=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-results-rhode-island-midterm-primaries>) * [ Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-results-rhode-island-midterm-primaries) * [ Twitter ]() * [ LinkedIn ]() * [ Pinterest ]() * [ Tumblr ]() [ Share on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-results-rhode-island-midterm-primaries) [ Share on Twitter ]() # Live Results: Rhode Island midterm primaries [Politics](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics) Sep 8, 2026 11:55 AM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee faces a tough Democratic primary challenge Wednesday in his bid for a second full term. Ocean State voters will also choose nominees for a full slate of federal, state and local offices. McKee was elected governor by a wide margin in 2022 after first assuming the role in March 2021 when then-Gov. Gina Raimondo stepped down to become U.S. commerce secretary. He now is at risk of becoming the nation's first elected governor since 2014 to lose renomination and the first in Rhode Island since 1994. [**READ MORE:** Midterm elections head into the home stretch as candidates attend Labor Day events](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/midterm-elections-head-into-the-home-stretch-as-candidates-attend-labor-day-events) His challenger is Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a former longtime executive with Rhode Island-based CVS. She placed a close second behind McKee in the five-way 2022 Democratic primary. She is the niece of former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut. ## Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. A top issue in the campaign has been McKee's handling and oversight of the reconstruction of the Washington Bridge, which connects Providence and East Providence and carries 100,000 vehicles per day. McKee closed the westbound bridge in December 2023 after authorities discovered critical structural flaws. Authorities then determined in March 2024 that the bridge would need to be demolished and replaced. State officials initially estimated the bridge would be reopened to traffic this year, but that has since been pushed back to Nov. 2028. Campaign ads have also referenced a 2024 joint investigation of McKee by the state Attorney General Peter Neronha and the state police that found that the governor "personally and directly intervened" in the awarding of a multimillion-dollar state contract, but that he did not violate the state's bribery or campaign finance laws. Neronha endorsed Foulkes in March. Gov. Dan McKee is at risk of becoming the nation's first elected governor since 2014 to lose renomination and the first in Rhode Island since 1994. McKee meanwhile has focused on Foulkes' work at CVS and the company's alleged role in fueling the opioid crisis. Foulkes' campaign fundraising and spending has almost doubled that of McKee's, according to state campaign finance records. Independent polling from the University of New Hampshire shows that Foulkes has maintained a lead over McKee throughout the year, although in the latest poll many voters remained undecided. McKee won the 2022 primary with 32.8% of the vote, just ahead of Foulkes with 29.9% and then-Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea with 26.2%. McKee narrowly carried most of the state's most populous cities, including Warwick, Cranston, East Providence and Pawtucket. The state's largest prize, Providence, went for Gorbea, with McKee placing second. Foulkes did best in most of the towns and cities around Narragansett Bay. In the Republican primary, Aaron Guckian and Elaine Pelino are vying for the nomination. Guckian is a state trade association executive and was the nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022. He won the two-way primary that year with about 68% of the vote. Pelino is a former actress and first-time candidate. The state party has endorsed Guckian. [**READ MORE:** New Hampshire voters pick midterm nominees as Sen. Shaheen's exit sparks scramble for key seats](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-hampshire-voters-pick-midterm-nominees-as-sen-shaheens-exit-sparks-scramble-for-key-seats) McKee won the 2022 general election with about 58% of the vote. It's been 20 years since Rhode Island elected a Republican governor. Since then, no Republican gubernatorial nominee has won more than 39% of the vote in the general election. Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied. ### When do polls close? Polls close at 8 p.m. ET. ### What's on the ballot? The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state Senate, state House and Providence mayor. ### Who gets to vote? Registered party members may vote only in their own party's primary. In other words, Democrats can't vote in the Republican primary or vice versa. Independent or unaffiliated voters may participate in either primary. ### How many voters are there? As of Sept. 1, there were about 793,000 registered voters in Rhode Island. Among the 695,000 active registered voters, about 235,000 were Democrats, about 100,000 were Republicans and about 359,000 were unaffiliated. ### How many people actually vote? About 59,000 Democratic primary votes and about 19,000 Republican primary votes were cast in the 2024 U.S. Senate primaries. About 114,000 Democratic primary votes and about 21,000 Republican primary votes were cast in the 2022 primaries for governor. ### How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot? About 32% of the 2024 Democratic U.S. Senate primary vote was cast early in-person or by mail, compared to about 22% in the Republican primary. Early and mail votes made up a smaller share in the 2022 gubernatorial primaries: 27% in the Democratic primary and 14% in the Republican primary. As of Thursday, about 30,000 Democratic primary ballots and about 3,500 Republican primary ballots had already bee