Gov. Dan McKee managed to persuade a pair of local unions to call off their planned pickets outside his fundraiser Monday night. But his victory has not yet translated to his campaign bank account, where he’s being out-fundraised by his likely 2026 opponent, Helena Buonanno Foulkes.
Neither McKee nor Foulkes have officially declared their intent to run for governor in 2026, despite trading jabs on the Washington Bridge, the homelessness crisis and Foulkes’ role as a former CVS executive during the time covered by a federal lawsuit accusing the pharmacy chain of perpetuating the opioid epidemic.
Despite McKee’s attempts to link Foulkes into the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against CVS due to her four-year tenure as CVS Pharmacy president, she raised more than double the sitting governor in the three-month reporting period that ended Dec. 31.
Foulkes reported more than $241,000 in fourth-quarter campaign donations, while McKee raked in more than $107,000, according to reports filed Friday. And, Foulkes maintains a war chest advantage, sitting on $1.04 million cash on hand to McKee’s $552,000.
Yet, McKee maintains the upper hand on union and trade industry support over his former opponent, whom he beat by 3 percentage points in the five-way Democratic gubernatorial primary in 2022.
He reported more than $10,200 in donations from political action committees in the fourth quarter. The Amalgamated Transportation Union, which represents 1,300 transportation workers across the state, gave McKee $1,000 through its PAC, while the Providence Central Federated Labor Council PAC donated $250. PACs associated with the state building, construction and marine trades associations also donated $1,000 apiece while the Hospital Association of Rhode Island gave $250.
Foulkes did not receive any PAC donations in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, preliminary discussions between McKee’s administration and the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers (RIBCO) and the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals appear to have been productive. Both unions threatened to picket McKee’s fundraiser at The Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick Monday night over concerns with workplace safety and a new teacher contract, respectively.
RIBCO called off its protest Sunday night, following weekend discussions with McKee about workplace safety.
Richard Ferruccio, president of the union representing 900 correctional officers, said in a statement that talks with the governor over safety issues remain ongoing.
“We were looking for the governor’s commitment to working with us to try to see if we can make the place safer,” Ferruccio said in an interview Monday. “That’s all we’re looking for.”
Ferruccio cited safety concerns such as overdoses among inmates and lack of communication with managers.
“The place, as a result, is falling apart,” Ferruccio said. “I am really concerned for our staff.”
Meanwhile, the 10,0000-member teachers’ union canceled its protest Monday afternoon, following conversations with the administration over new teacher contracts with the Rhode Island Department of Education.
“We’re satisfied that conversations are moving in the right direction and there can be collaboration toward a solution,” Jeremy Sencer, a spokesperson for the union said in an interview Monday.
The union wants the state to agree to the same 5% salary increase for its members given to other state union employees in fiscal 2025, along with recognizing the union’s existence and bargaining rights, Sencer said.
The teachers’ union has not yet decided who it plans to back in the 2026 governor’s race, which is why it has donated to neither McKee nor Foulkes, Sencer said. Campaign records show the union PAC donated more than $20,700 to various legislators and state officers throughout 2024.
RIBCO, meanwhile, donated $500 to McKee’s campaign through its PAC in January 2024, campaign finance records show.
Ferruccio said it was “way too soon to say” who the union will endorse in 2026.
Donor list
McKee’s fourth-quarter donations also included $1,000 apiece from prominent Providence developer Buff Chace, former Providence Mayor Joe Paolino, and Don Sweitzer, former chairman of Providence-based IGT. He also received $500 apiece from former Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch and Robert Walsh, former executive director of the National Education Association Rhode Island.
Foulkes’ fourth-quarter donor list included a dozen current and former CVS executives. Among them: Norm de Greve, former chief marketing officer at CVS Health, who donated the maximum $2,000; Josh Flum, former chief strategy officer at CVS Health, who donated $2,000, and Troyen Brennan, former chief medical officer and executive vice president for CVS Health, who donated $500.
Foulkes also received a $1,000 donation from Perry Raso, oyster farmer and owner of Matunuck Oyster Bar, and $500 apiece from Dave Chenevert, executive director of the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association and Janet Coit, former executive director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management who former governor turned U.S. Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo tapped to work for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration in 2021.
Foulkes’ campaign balance includes a $1.8 million outstanding personal loan, while McKee has a nearly $22,000 loan outstanding.
Neither Foulkes nor McKee can compete financially with House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who remains the top fundraiser in the state, with nearly $3.17 million cash on hand as of Dec. 31. Shekarchi has denied any interest in entering the governor’s race in 2026, but raised more than $56,000 in donations in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Ashley Kalus, who ran as a Republican against McKee in 2022, also suggested on social media in October, and again in a recent interview with the Providence Journal, that she may be interested in a 2026 rematch. Kalus, who lost to McKee by 19 percentage points in the 2022 general election, closed her campaign finance account in August 2023.
Kalus has donated to other top legislators in 2024, including Shekarchi, to whom she gave the $2,000 maximum in April 2024. More recently, Kalus donated to first-time Republican legislative candidates Richard Fascia and Christopher Paplauskus, giving them $500 and $600, respectively, during the fourth-quarter reporting period.
This article was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
