Rhode Island Governor Race 2026: Foulkes vs. Block

Helena Foulkes (D), 62, unseated Gov. Dan McKee in the September primary. A former president of CVS Pharmacy (2014 to 2018), she has made housing the centerpiece of her campaign, pledging 20,000 new units over eight years funded partly by the state's new surtax on income over $1 million, and she has made infant child care costs a signature issue.

The real November contest is now with Ken Block (I), a software engineer who ran for governor in 2010 and 2014 and is pitching government efficiency and pocketbook issues. Block is the only candidate viewed more favorably than unfavorably in the WPRI poll, and he drew nearly half of independents. The state Democratic Party has spent $300,000 on mailers casting him as a secret Republican, and the Democratic Governors Association has put in $500,000 for Foulkes. A Laborers union arm plans to spend $500,000 for her, and in mid-October Foulkes had booked about $150,000 in TV time for a single week, while Block's most recent orders totaled about $25,000. WPRI analyst Joe Fleming says Block would have to pull from Foulkes's Democratic base to win, which could prove difficult. Aaron Guckian (R), a former aide to Gov. Don Carcieri and the party's 2022 nominee for lieutenant governor, has refused calls to leave the race so Block can consolidate the anti-Foulkes vote, and told Block at a debate, "You cut the line." Housing, Foulkes's centerpiece, has dominated the debates: Foulkes would create a public revolving fund for developers, Block favors an approach tailored to each municipality, and Guckian proposes modular-home communities for veterans and frontline workers. At the final debate on October 20, Foulkes said her 20,000 homes would be priced at $250,000 to $300,000, while Guckian and Block named no target. Jasjit Gotra (I) and C.D. Reynolds (I) are also on the ballot. The Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball rate the seat Solid Democratic; Pluribus News has it Likely Democratic.