Former Board of Overseers President Defeats Incumbent in Rhode Island Gubernatorial Primary

Former Harvard Board of Overseers president Helena G. Buonanno Foulkes ’86 ousted incumbent Rhode Island Governor Daniel J. McKee by a wide margin in the Democratic Primary election Wednesday night.

Foulkes’ victory marks the first time in eight years that an incumbent governor has lost a primary election. Until Wednesday night, a Rhode Island governor had not been defeated in a primary since 1994.

Foulkes, the former President of CVS Pharmacy, was leading McKee by a 24.8-point margin as of 12:00 a.m, with just over 62 percent of the vote and 94 percent of ballots counted, according to the Associated Press.

Foulkes served on the Board of Overseers, Harvard’s second-highest governing body, from 2016 to 2022 and as president during the 2021-22 term. She launched her first bid for governor during her presidential term, a race she lost to McKee by a razor-thin margin.

Those connections proved fruitful for Foulkes during her second run.

Dozens of Harvard affiliates — including several current and former members of the University’s governing boards — donated to Foulkes’ campaign after she entered the race last September. Their contributions totaled more than $46,000.

According to public filings, Corporation member Karen Gordon Mills gave $3,000 to Foulkes. Former Corporation members Theodore V. Wells Jr. and Herbert “Pug” Winokur Jr. each gave $2,000 this year.

Multiple former Overseers gave, too. Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine ’92 and Gwill E. York ’79, who both served a year as vice chair of the Overseers, donated $2,000 apiece. Individual donations are capped at $2,000 per calendar year.

Former Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow also gave $2,000 to support her run.

Foulkes’ ties to Harvard hounded her in the campaign’s early months. Last November, McKee demanded Foulkes return $6,000 in donations made by former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers to her two campaigns, citing his ties to child sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein. She responded by donating an equivalent amount to an unspecified nonprofit organization.

Foulkes largely kept quiet about her Harvard years on the campaign trail as she fended off criticism from McKee for her corporate ties, including her tenure as executive vice president of CVS Health during the opioid epidemic.

Foulkes promised not to be swayed by special interests in a Wednesday night victory speech in Providence.

“I want to be really clear about something: Our campaign was not built on favors to special interests. There’s no favor bank waiting to be repaid,” Foulkes said Wednesday. “Decisions in this state should get made by what’s right, not by who you know. I will govern the same way I have campaigned — by being accessible.”

Foulkes attracted support this year as voters soured on McKee for his handling of the Washington Bridge project — a repair job dogged by delays and rising costs since the state abruptly closed the bridge in 2023. The bridge is a key New England artery, and its closure has caused lengthy delays for commuters.

Foulkes attacked McKee on the trail for the bridge fiasco, alleging he botched the project and ignored early signs that the bridge was failing. McKee has stood by his response, and a rebuilt Washington Bridge is slated to reopen in November 2028.

Foulkes is widely expected to win the November general election, where she will face either Republican Aaron Guckian or Elaine Pelino. There was no projected victor in the Republican primary as of late Wednesday night.

—Staff writer Hugo C. Chiasson can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at hcc.35. Follow him on X @HugoChiassonn.

—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at elisespenner.82. Follow her on X @EliseSpenner.